John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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108. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of complaints received by the Property Services Regulatory Authority in each of the past six years; the number of preliminary and full investigations carried out to date; the number of draft reports issued; the number of draft reports outstanding that have yet to be concluded; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2831/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA) was formally established in 2012 pursuant to the provisions of the Property Services (Regulation) Act 2011. Section 63 of the 2011 Act provides that a person may make a complaint to the PSRA alleging improper conduct on the part of a licensed property service provider. Subject to a basic assessment under Section 63 of the admissibility of the complaint, the PSRA is obliged to carry out an investigation into the alleged improper conduct. The complaint may also be resolved informally between the complainant and the licensee with the PSRA facilitating such settlements where possible.

The Act does not provide for preliminary investigations so in every instance that a complaint is deemed admissible, an Inspector is appointed and a full and formal investigation is undertaken in accordance with Section 65 of the 2011 Act. Complainants in this type of investigation are kept informed of the progress of the investigation, by the investigating Inspector, as required by Section 65(5) of the Act. At the conclusion of the investigation, the Inspector's penultimate task is to prepare a Draft Investigation Report which is sent to both the complainant and the licensee and on which both can make submissions to the Inspector. The Inspector's final task is to prepare the Final Investigation Report, taking into account any submissions received on the Draft Report, and to submit the Final Report to the Authority. It is then a matter for the Authority to consider the content of the Final Investigation Report and to take any action it considers appropriate in relation to the matter, in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

A table provides details of complaints received by the PSRA for the years 2012 to 2016 inclusive. Of these, 76% have been fully concluded. Additional resources have been provided to the PSRA in recent times, to assist with the reduction of the complaints arrears. I am advised by the PSRA that it is prioritising the finalisation of the older complaints cases.