Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 194: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if the fee for the registration of tenancies with the Private Residential Tenancies Board has been changed from €70 for individual tenancies and €300 for composite tenancies at the same address; if he will clarify the traditional practise whereby €50 of the fee was considered to be earmarked for inspections and €20 towards the costs of the PRTB; the breakdown which applies in the case of the composite fee; if he has had consultation or discussions with organisations or individuals on the fee and the use to which the fee is put; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25556/09]

Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 195: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the breakdown of the costs to the nearest available date for the setting up and ongoing operations of the Private Residential Tenancies Board; if the PRTB is self-financing; if it has been in receipt of Exchequer funding at any stage; his views on whether it is in a suitable financial position to carry out its function over the next five years; if he envisages a situation whereby the PRTB will require Exchequer funding in the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25557/09]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Question Nos. 194 and 195 together.

Section 137 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 specifies the fee for the registration of a single tenancy with the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) within one month of the commencement of the tenancy as €70 and a fee of €140 applies where the tenancy is registered after this period. The Act also provides for a composite fee of €300 for multiple tenancies in one building, where the tenancies are registered within one month of the commencement of each individual tenancy. Section 138 of the Act specifies that the Board may vary these fees in line with changes in the value of money. No such variation has been made to either fee and I have not had specific discussions with third parties in relation to the above fees.

In terms of the financing of the PRTB, its operations are funded from a combination of annual Exchequer grant, a proportion of the fee income accruing from tenancy registrations and fees it charges for its dispute resolution services. In addition, the Office of Public Works (OPW) has in the past made payments for the benefit of the PRTB, primarily for accommodation overheads, and some fixed assets have also been transferred to the PRTB by my Department.

The annual amounts provided by way of Exchequer grant, OPW payments and asset transfers for the period from the establishment of the Board in September 2004 to the end of 2008 are set out hereunder in tabular form.

The PRTB is also part-funded from the fees which it collects from the registration of tenancies. Up to 1 April 2009, two sevenths of each fee, including composite fees, was earmarked to support the PRTB's running costs, with the balance being used to support local authorities in the discharge of their functions in relation to the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008, the Housing (Rent Book) Regulations 1993 and 2004 and other provisions of the Housing Acts related to private rented accommodation. The tenancy registration fees collected by the PRTB for each year up to 2008, two sevenths of which would have been assigned to PRTB running costs, are set out below in tabular form.

Taking account of the level of accumulated funds available for distribution to local authorities to support their enforcement activities, the basis for apportionment of tenancy registration fee proceeds was amended with effect from 1 April 2009 – four sevenths is now assigned towards meeting the PRTB's running costs, with the remaining three sevenths being devoted to local authority enforcement activities.

The PRTB also derives limited income from fees charged for its dispute resolution services. The income derived from this source in each of the years up to 31 December 2008 is set out below in tabular form.

I am satisfied that adequate funding arrangements are in place to allow the PRTB to deliver on its functions in the years ahead. Nevertheless, my Department will continue to keep the Board's income sources, including the manner in which registration fee income is divided between local authority inspection functions and PRTB running costs, under review.

Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 196: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government when he expects to announce proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act 2004; when his recently announced review of that Act will commence and be completed; the terms of reference of the review and the name or names of those carrying out the review; the cost, if the review is carried out externally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25558/09]

Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 197: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if amendments have been made to the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 to date; his plans to amend or otherwise address the situation by which tenants can remain in residence and not pay rent while a dispute is being processed with the Private Residential Tenancies Board; the average time taken to fully process cases when rent is not being paid; his plans to create an independent holding system for rents payable by tenants in dispute with the property owner; his further plans for a similar holding system for deposits paid by tenants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25559/09]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 196 and 197 together.

The Residential Tenancies Act 2004 was amended by the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2009, which was a technical piece of legislation introduced to regularise a number of appointments to the Dispute Resolution Committee of the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) about which concerns had been raised in terms of procedural and technical correctness. Earlier this year, I announced my intention to review the provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 under which the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) operates. The purpose of this review is to consider whether the Act best supports the PRTB's key functions and whether legislative amendments would support either the achievement of additional operational efficiencies by the PRTB in the delivery of those functions or the broader good working of the private rented sector.

Full details in relation to the background to the review and the associated terms of reference are available on my Department's website, www.environ.ie. In summary, the specific issues to be considered in the course of the review are: Ø The scope for enhancing procedural simplicity and efficiency. Ø The existing Board and Committee structure and the functional relationship between the Board and Executive. Ø The relationship between the Minister/Department and the PRTB. Ø Legislative issues, including proposals already made by the Board, and the need for additional legislative provisions arising from the review.

The review, which I hope will yield preliminary outcomes by Autumn 2009, has now commenced and is being carried out by my Department itself. As part of the review, my Department is consulting with relevant stakeholders, including the PRTB and landlord and tenant representative organisations. Advertisements were also placed in the print media at the end of May 2009 seeking the views of the public. The Board, in fulfilment of its remit to advise on policy aspects and the general operation of the Residential Tenancies Act, has already submitted to my Department a number of suggestions for legislative improvements and it is hoped to address the most critical of these in the context of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008, currently before the Oireachtas, with the remaining proposals being considered further in the context of the review.

As my Department has no function in the operational matters of the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB), which is an independent statutory body established under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on specific cases or classes of cases. However, I understand that the PRTB is examining the various issues around the retention of deposits, including an assessment of deposit models, and that the Board hopes to conclude its research in this regard in the next few months. I expect the outcome of this research to feed into the Residential Tenancies Acts review outlined above.

Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 198: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the reason for lengthy delays in completing the registration of tenancies with the Private Residential Tenancies Board and what happens to the registration fees when the process is so lengthy; the number of applications awaiting completion; the average number of applications completed each week; the effect the embargo on public sector recruitment will have on the PRTB; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25560/09]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has no function in the operational matters of the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB), which is an independent statutory body established under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004. The PRTB may be contacted at their offices at O'Connell Bridge House, D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 or by telephone or email. Contact details are available on the Board's website at www.prtb.ie. As a State Agency, the PRTB is subject to Government policy in relation to public sector numbers. While the impact of such policies on the PRTB will be kept under review, it should be noted that a request from the Board of the PRTB for the recruitment of an additional 14 permanent staff, to bring the permanent staffing complement from 26 to 40, was approved last year. This has been of significant benefit to the Board in dealing with the administrative work associated with the processing of registrations and dispute cases. The purposes for which tenancy registration fees are utilised are set out in the reply to a question on today's Order Paper.

Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 199: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his plans to provide a system allowing partial or full electronic registration of complaints to the Private Residential Tenancies Board; his views on whether this would help to speed up and deal more efficiently with the decision and determination process for the PRTB saving time and expense for the board, the tenant and the property owner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25564/09]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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The PRTB, an independent statutory body, is committed to delivering its services in as timely a manner as possible and it has set out a clear strategic approach in this regard. My Department supports the PRTB in this approach and, last year, in response to the large and ongoing volume of work involved, a request from the Board of the PRTB for the recruitment of an additional 14 permanent staff, to bring the permanent staffing complement from 26 to 40, was approved. This has been of significant benefit to the Board in dealing with the administrative work associated with the processing of registrations and dispute cases.

In December last year I launched the PRTB's 2009 – 2011 Corporate Plan which set's out the organisation's priorities in the adjudication and administration of landlord/tenant disputes. The Plan commits the PRTB to the development of an on-line tenancy registration system and to the implementation of a system of on-line registration of disputes. I share the Board's considered view that online registration will yield significant operational and other efficiencies and will benefit all stakeholders. To facilitate this I have introduced an amendment to the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 via the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008, currently before the Oireachtas, to allow for online electronic registration of tenancies.