I have no function in the operational matters of the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB), an independent statutory body established under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2004, and cannot therefore comment on the specifics of any individual case.
The Act regulates the tenant-landlord relationship in the private rented residential sector. My Department conducted a review of the Act in 2009 with a specific emphasis on whether the Act best supports the PRTB's key functions and on whether legislative amendments would support either the achievement of additional operational efficiencies by the PRTB in the delivery of those functions or the broader good working of the private rented sector. The outcomes of the review were announced by my predecessor as Minister of State and, in April 2010, the Government approved the preparation of the Heads of a Bill to deliver on the review's recommendations.
The over-holding of property and the non-payment of rent by tenants were identified in that review process among a range of issues that merited specific attention. I am at present evaluating the review recommendations and associated legislative proposals and I intend to submit proposals in that regard to Government in the near future.
The Board currently operates on a self-financing basis and does not receive direct Exchequer support. Instead, by way of Ministerial direction under section 137 of the Act, it is allocated a portion of the overall fee income received by the Board.