Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 382: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of tenancies currently registered with the Private Residential Tenancies Board; if there is a mechanism in place to keep account of the number of licence agreements in operation at present; if a mechanism is in place to ensure that licence agreements conform to the standards of residential and tenancy legislation. [12962/09]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I have no function in these matters as the operation of tenancy registration is the responsibility of the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB), an independent statutory body established under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2004. Nevertheless, it should be noted that since its establishment, the Board has achieved considerable success in the registration of tenancies and I understand that in excess of 210,000 active tenancies are currently registered, covering some 103,000 landlords and some 362,000 tenants.

The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 applies to every dwelling that is the subject of a tenancy, subject to a limited number of exceptions which are set out in section 3(2) of the Act. Where a dwelling is occupied by a person under an arrangement or agreement which is not a tenancy or under a tenancy to which the Act does not apply, the PRTB does not have any function in the registration of such agreements or arrangements.

I have recently announced my intention to review aspects of the Residential Tenancies Act. While the PRTB has not brought any specific concerns to my attention in relation to licence arrangements, I will review the matter as part of the overall review of the legislation which it is hoped will yield preliminary outcomes by autumn 2009.