Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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420. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he is concerned in relation to the delays in dealing with disputes by the Residential Tenancies Board; whether the board has requested extra resources in terms of staff and funding; the steps he intends taking to ensure the board has enough resources to do its business in an efficient and timely manner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29433/24]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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421. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government of he plans to provide further funding to the Residential Tenancies Board in order that it can reduce its fees to make the service accessible to all; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29434/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 420 and 421 together.

The Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) was established as a quasi-judicial independent statutory body under the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2022 (RTA) to regulate the rental sector; provide information to tenants and landlords; maintain a national register of tenancies; resolve disputes between tenants and landlords; and conduct research and provide information to inform policy. The remit of the RTB covers the private rental sector, the not-for-profit housing providers commonly known as Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) and Student-specific Accommodation providers (SSA).

My Department is responsible for the oversight of the RTB which is underpinned by governance arrangements including an Oversight Agreement and Performance Delivery Agreement (PDA) in place with the RTB making clear the requirements for reporting to my Department, in line with the requirements of the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies.

The PDA sets out both inputs and outputs and key performance indicators for which RTB is accountable and any risks to their delivery. The agreement is produced on a three yearly basis and revised annually, to reflect changes to the legislation which in turn impacts on the RTB’s mandate and resources. Monitoring of RTB performance under these agreements is done through regular communication and engagement between my Department and the RTB, including Quarterly Governance Meetings, performance review meetings and other meetings as required.

The RTB is also supported by a third party outsourced service provider who carries out the RTB’s call centre, document management and data entry functions. This contract gives the RTB the flexibility to increase resources as and when required. The outsourcer’s staff are not RTB employees.

Following recommendations in the RTB Workforce Plan, and engagement with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, the RTB received sanction for significant additional staff over the past five years. Recent RTB staff sanction requests which my Department has granted include: eight additional staff for the Disputes Resolution unit; and seven staff for the area of Vendor Management and a Data Management Office in December 2023. My Department continues to work with the RTB to ensure that it is sufficiently resourced to deliver on its mandate. To this end €12.2 million of funding is being provided by my Department to the RTB for 2024.

The operation of the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2022, the residential rental market and the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) are kept under constant review by my Department to ensure that they are fit for purpose.