Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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587. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the annual budget and number of personnel employed by the Private Residential Tenancies Board in each of the years 2010 to 2015 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40678/15]

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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The Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) was established in September 2004 under the Residential Tenancies Act. For the first six years the PRTB was in receipt of Exchequer funding towards operational costs but has operated on a self-financing basis since 2010.

The PRTB’s funding is derived primarily from a proportion of the fee income accruing from tenancy registrations, as set down by Ministerial Order. The Board is currently entitled to retain 80% of the registration fee income to fund its activities, with 20% going to fund local authority inspections of rented accommodation under the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008. It also retains the fees charged for its dispute resolution services. Details of the Board’s income is set out in its Annual Reports and Accounts, which are available on its website .

The total number of personnel employed by the PRTB in whole time equivalents for the years in question is as follows:

- 2010 – 65.4

- 2011 – 50.4

- 2012 – 37.4

- 2013 – 34.8

- 2014 – 30.3

- 2015 – 33.3

The reduction in staffing in recent years needs to be seen in the context of the introduction of online tenancy registration and dispute application services and the outsourcing of certain activities. In 2012, the PRTB awarded a contract, outsourcing its call -centre activities and processing of paper registrations, allowing the Board to focus on its dispute resolution functions.  There are currently 30 people employed on the PRTB account by the outsourced service provider.

Given the sustained increase in demand for PRTB services, approval was provided for an additional 9 permanent staff and the Board is in the process of recruitment to fill these posts which will bring the number of personnel up to 42. Further resources are to be made available in the context of the implementation of the Government’s recently announced package of measures in relation to the rental sector.

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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588. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of vacancies on the Private Residential Tenancies Board's dispute resolution committee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40679/15]

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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The Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) was established as an independent statutory body under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004. The primary functions of the Board are to operate a national tenancy registration system and to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants in the private rented residential sector.

Section 159 of the Act provides for a Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) of up to 40 members including the Chairperson. Members of the committee are appointed by the Board after consultation with the Minister. The PRTB initiated a competitive process for new appointments to the DRC in 2014 and there are currently 40 members on the committee.

The Residential Tenancies Amendment (No. 2) Bill 2012, currently before the Oireachtas, provides that, inter alia, members of the Board may no longer sit on the DRC. A panel remains in place from which committee members may be drawn if required.