Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage to discuss Analysis of Private Rental Sector Data

The meeting at 4pm in Committee Room 3 of Leinster House will hear from representatives from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and Residential Tenancies Board (RTB), and Dr Michael Byrne from the School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice at University College Dublin (UCD).

Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Steven Matthews said: “Data published by the CSO and RTB for 2022 shows a discrepancy between the number of residential tenancies in the private rented sector recorded by both bodies. The CSO reported 330,632 households in private rented accommodation in Census 2022 data, while the RTB recorded 246,453 tenancies registered with it.

“While this could be the result of a number of factors, the Committee wishes to discuss the scale of the difference between the two figures. Members would like to hear a deeper analysis from the CSO and RTB on why this is the case and how their figures can be better aligned to give a full picture of the size and scale of the private rented sector.

“The Committee looks forward to discussing such an analysis and related matters with the representatives of the CSO and the RTB, and also with Dr Byrne, an independent expert who has analysed both the Census data and the number of tenancies registered with the RTB.”

The Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage has 14 Members, nine from the Dáil and five from the Seanad.

The meeting in Committee Room 3 can be viewed live on Oireachtas TV.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.