Noel Rock (Dublin North West, Fine Gael)
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229. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the use to which the statistics his office receive from the RTB and the PRTB are put; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42125/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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It is crucial that policy decisions are based on and supported by the best available evidence where possible. This is why the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) Rent Index is so important. Since October 2013, the RTB, in conjunction with the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), has produced the RTB Rent Index on a quarterly basis. The RTB Rent Index is the most accurate and authoritative rent report of its kind on the private accommodation sector in Ireland. It is generated using the actual rent figures provided when registering with the RTB.

Recent legislation established rent pressure zones in certain areas and laid out the process through which further rent pressure zones can be established.  To enable the designation of rent pressure zones at a more granular level, the RTB, working with the ESRI, has developed a methodology to provide rental price information at a more local level, enabling the designation of Local Electoral Areas (LEA) as rent pressure zones as well as improving the Index more generally and providing a more detailed and useful picture of the performance of the rental sector.  The information collected by the RTB provides a robust basis for implementing the Rent Pressure Zones and for monitoring their impact.

As well as information on rent levels, the RTB's statistics on tenancy registrations and on its dispute resolution activities provide important information on the behaviour of the rental market and the impact of Government policies. The role of the RTB is still evolving and will develop over the medium term and the range and quality of the information that it produces will increase.

On 19 September, I announced that the RTB will be given the powers and resources to take on greater regulatory responsibility in the rental sector over the next two years. As part of this change, the RTB will move towards annual registration of tenancies, which will permit the building of a national rent dataset, allowing the Board to provide benchmark rents for different property types. This enhanced data will be key to understanding trends and behaviour in the rental market as well as informing future policy decisions.