Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 30: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he is satisfied that despite an increase of 55,309 to 188,152 in the number of dwellings registered with the Private Residential Tenancies Board in 2007, the number of dwellings inspected in that year rose by only 3,683 to 12,047 or 6.4% of the total number of registered dwellings. [43050/08]

Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Question 36: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the way he will advance his aspiration that inspections should specifically target property that is likelier to be non-compliant as he has no function in relation to staffing arrangements for inspection purposes. [43057/08]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 38: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will introduce a uniform approach to the serving of improvement notices on landlords; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that some local authorities serve a notice in every case in which regulatory requirements are not met while others never serve such a notice. [43063/08]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 40: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the legislative structure he will put in place to ensure that funds allocated for inspections of dwellings are used exclusively for inspections. [43052/08]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 44: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that in the Louth local authority area while there is an increase of 62% in the number of registered dwellings to 3,148 only 30 dwellings were inspected, representing less than 1%. [43061/08]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 49: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will take action to ensure a more uniform level of inspections of private rented dwellings among local authorities; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the percentage of registered dwellings inspected ranges from less than 1% to more than 40% with the overall average being 6.4%. [43060/08]

Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 51: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he is satisfied that in the case of three county councils and three city councils the number of dwellings inspected has decreased as compared with 2006 despite an increase in the number of registered dwellings and an increase in the funds allocated for inspections. [43051/08]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 52: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the legislative framework he will put in place to ensure that the measures announced in the standards reform package are implemented; if he will issue guidelines or regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43053/08]

Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 140: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if it his intention that every new first-time letting from February 2009 onwards will be inspected to ensure compliance with every aspect of the new standards in rental accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43265/08]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 30, 36, 38, 40, 44, 49, 51, 52 and 140 together.

Minimum standards for rental accommodation are prescribed in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 1993, made under section 18 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992. All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these regulations. Failure to do so is an offence, subject, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €3,000, or a term of 6 months in prison or both, and €250 for each day of a continuing offence. Responsibility for enforcing the regulations rests with the relevant local authority, supported by a dedicated stream of funding allocated by my Department.

In general, local authorities have significantly expanded their inspection activity in recent years. Inspection numbers have more than doubled — from 6,815 to 14,008 — in the period 2005 to 2007. More detailed information on the number of inspections carried out each year up to and including 2007 is included in my Department's Annual Housing Statistics Bulletins, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library and on my Department's website at www.environ.ie. In interpreting the data, it is important to note that the significant increase in registrations of tenancies since the Private Residential Tenancies Board was established in late 2004 reflects the Board's success in achieving registration compliance, rather than changes in the actual level of rental accommodation supply over the period.

My Department provides significant resources, from part of the proceeds of tenancy registration fees collected by the Private Residential Tenancies Board, to assist local authorities in discharging their functions under the Housing Acts in relation to rented accommodation. Over €3m was provided in 2007 and a further €4m has been earmarked for this purpose for 2008.

Since 2006, the allocation of funding has been increasingly linked to inspections performance by local authorities. Half of the funding paid in respect of 2007 was based on actual inspections carried out and this will also be the case in respect of 2008. Consequently, while the significantly increased funding being made available to local authorities for inspection activity, and the increasingly performance-linked basis for allocations, are contributing to a much improved inspections regime overall, where a particular individual authority's inspection activity is low relative to others, this is reflected in a relatively lower funding allocation.

It is a matter for each individual local authority to decide the specific details of its enforcement strategy and inspection arrangements. However, in discharging their responsibilities in relation to the rental sector, authorities have been asked to have regard to the Good Practice Guidelines for Local Authorities on Standards in the Private Rented Sector: Strategic Planning, Effective Enforcement published by the Centre for Housing Research in November 2007, which makes a range of recommendations on relevant issues, including targeting inspection activities.

In the Partnership Agreement Towards 2016, the Government committed to updating and more effectively enforcing the minimum standards regulations and recently delivered on this commitment by approving a package of measures. A number of elements of this package require amendments of primary legislation and these are being addressed during the passage, through the Oireachtas, of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008, currently before the Seanad. These include increased penalties for non-compliance and the introduction of a more robust sanctions regime.

Those elements of the package not requiring primary legislation will be introduced through new regulations to replace those made in 1993. Regulations for this purpose, which will be made shortly, will come into effect generally on 1 February 2009. However, taking account of views expressed in wide-ranging consultations during the development of the new standards package, certain elements of the new regulations will not come into effect for existing rental accommodation until 1 February 2013 as it will be necessary to allow time for the carrying out of the significant remedial work that may be involved in achieving compliance.

The aspects covered by those provisions — sanitary facilities, heating facilities and food preparation, storage and laundry — will therefore continue to be subject to the relevant provisions of the Housing (Standards for Rented Housing) Regulations 1993 until then, in so far as existing rental accommodation is concerned. However, any rental properties being let for the first time after 1 February 2009 will have to comply with all the requirements of the new Regulations. A comprehensive Guidance Document will be published in advance of the 1 February 2009 commencement date in order to assist local authorities in the practical implementation of the new regulations.

I am committed to building on the significant progress made in recent years with regard to inspection of private rented accommodation. In addition to the introduction of the new standards and the accompanying guidance, and the continued provision of significant resources linked to inspection activity, the revised suite of local authority service indicators now includes a new indicator in relation to the enforcement of private rented accommodation standards. This indicator, which will further underscore good performance in this area, applies from 2008 onwards, with the first report on the indicator becoming available next year.

Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 31: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the amount collected by the Private Residential Tenancies Board in tenancy registrations in 2005, 2006 and 2007; the number of tenancies registered each year; the number of tenancies registered late in 2007; the proportion of the late registration fee of €140 which is allocated to the support of local authorities in performing their functions in relation to the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 1993; the number of composite fees charged in 2007; and the proportion of the €300 that is allocated to local authorities. [43068/08]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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The registration fees collected by the Private Residential Tenancies Board in 2005, 2006 and 2007, and the number of registrations recorded each year, are set out in the following table. Also included in the table is the number of late registrations and composite fees recorded in 2007. Five sevenths of all registration fees paid to the Board is allocated to support local authorities in performing their functions in relation to the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 1993 and the Housing (Rent Books) Regulations 1993 and other provisions of the Housing Acts related to private rented accommodation.