Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 December 2015
606. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if the Private Residential Tenancies Board is to receive increased resources due to the greater role the board will play arising from the recent measures on housing introduced by him; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45838/15]
View answerThe Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) was established in September 2004 under the Residential Tenancies Act.
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 are set out in its Annual Reports and Accounts, which are available on its website www.prtb.ie.
In line with the Government’s Employment Control Framework, the PRTB was required to reduce its staffing complement from a peak of 70 which included agency staff, to 50 at end-2011 and to 33 by end-2013.
The reduction in staffing over that period also 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 the 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 in 2014 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.
More recently, in the context of the implementation of the Government’s package of measures in relation to the rental sector announced in November 2015, sanction for a further 5 staff to establish the Deposit Protection Scheme and 3 additional staff to administer the new rent stability arrangements was secured. When recruitment is completed, this will bring the staff complement back up to 50 and ensures that the Board is well-resourced to perform its functions.
My Department continues to keep the resources available to the PRTB under close review and engages regularly with the Board on this matter.
