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27 2004

Residential Tenancies Act 2004

Chapter 8

Financial and accountability provisions

Grants to Board.

174. —The Minister may, in each financial year, after consultation with the Board in relation to its proposed work programme and projected expenditure for that year, make to the Board a grant of such amount, as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas for the purposes of expenditure by the Board in the performance of its functions.

Borrowings by Board.

175. —(1) The Board may, for the purpose of providing for current or capital expenditure, from time to time, borrow money (whether on the security of the assets of the Board or otherwise).

(2) The exercise of this power is subject to the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Finance and to such conditions as they may specify.

Fees.

176. —(1) The Board may charge, receive and recover such fees as the Board may from time to time determine, subject to the consent of the Minister, in relation to the performance by the Board of its functions, the provision by it of services (other than a service consisting of the provision of information or advice to the Minister) and the carrying on by it of activities.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of any fee provision for the charging for, or payment of, which is made by any other provision of this Act.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Board may charge fees in respect of all or any of the following:

(a) access to records of determination orders made under section 121 ,

(b) provision of a sealed and certified copy of a determination order made under section 121 ,

(c) copies of publications produced by the Board,

(d) the provision of details of an aggregated nature under section 131 .

(4) The Board may recover, as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction, from the person by whom it is payable, any amount due and owing to it under this or any other provision of this Act.

(5) Fees received by the Board under this Act shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister may direct.

(6) The Public Offices Fees Act 1879 shall not apply to any fees payable under this Act.

Accounts.

177. —(1) The Director shall submit estimates of income and expenditure of the Board to the Minister in such form, in respect of such periods, and at such times as may be required by the Minister and shall furnish to the Minister any information which the Minister may require in relation to such estimates, including proposals and future plans relating to the discharge by the Board of its functions over a period of years, as required.

(2) The Director shall consult with the Board in performing the functions under subsection (1) and may submit to the Minister any estimates, information, proposals or other matters under that subsection only after obtaining the Board's consent to do so.

(3) The Director, under the direction of the Board, shall cause to be kept on a continuous basis and in a legible or a machine readable form or both all proper books and records of account of all income and expenditure of the Board, and of the sources of such income and the subject matter of such expenditure, and of the property, assets and liabilities of the Board; the Director shall also keep and shall account to the Board for all such special accounts as the Minister or the Board, with the consent of the Minister, may from time to time direct should be kept.

(4) The financial year of the Board shall be the period of 12 months ending on 31 December in any year and, for the purposes of section 174 , this section and section 178 , the period commencing on the establishment day and ending on the following 31 December shall be deemed to be a financial year.

Further provisions with respect to accounts (including their audit).

178. —(1) The Board, the Director and any relevant member of the staff of the Board shall, whenever so requested by the Minister, permit any person appointed by the Minister to examine the books or other records of account of the Board in respect of any financial year or other period and shall facilitate any such examination, and the Board shall pay such fee therefor as may be fixed by the Minister.

(2) In subsection (1) “relevant member of the staff of the Board” means a member of the staff of the Board to whom there has been duly assigned functions relating to the books or other records of account referred to in that subsection.

(3) The accounts of the Board for each financial year shall be prepared in such a form and manner as may be specified by the Minister and be prepared by the Director and approved by the Board as soon as practicable but not later than three months after the end of the financial year to which they relate for submission, as soon as practicable, to the Comptroller and Auditor General for audit.

(4) A copy of such of the accounts referred to in subsection (3) as the Minister directs and the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General thereon shall be presented to the members of the Board and to the Minister, as soon as practicable after the audit of them is completed, and the Minister shall cause a copy of those documents to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

Accountability of Director to Oireachtas Committees.

179. —(1) The Director shall, whenever he or she is so required by a Committee of Dáil Éireann established under the Standing Orders of Dáil Éireann to examine and report to Dáil Éireann on the appropriation accounts and reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General, give evidence to that Committee on—

(a) the regularity and propriety of the transactions recorded or required to be recorded in any account subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General which the Director or the Board is required by or under statute to prepare,

(b) the economy and efficiency of the Board in the use of its resources,

(c) the systems, procedures and practices employed by the Board for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness of its operations, and

(d) any matter affecting the Board referred to in a special report of the Comptroller and Auditor General under section 11(2) of the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993 or in any other report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (in so far as it relates to a matter specified in paragraph (a), (b) or (c)) that is laid before Dáil Éireann.

(2) The Director shall, at the request in writing of any other Oireachtas Committee, attend before it and give evidence to it on any matter related to the functions of the Board.

(3) In subsection (2), “other Oireachtas Committee” means a committee appointed by either House of the Oireachtas or jointly by both Houses of the Oireachtas (other than the committee referred to in subsection (1)) or a subcommittee of such a committee.

Reports and information to Minister.

180. —(1) The Board shall, not later than 30 June in each year subsequent to the year in which the establishment day falls, make a report to the Minister (in this section referred to as the “annual report”) in such form as the Minister any approve, on the performance of its functions and activities during the preceding year and the Minister shall cause copies of each annual report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

(2) Each annual report shall include information in such form and regarding such matters as the Minister may direct.

(3) The Board may, from time to time, make such other reports to the Minister relating to its functions as it thinks fit and shall, whenever so requested by the Minister, supply to the Minister such information, in addition to that provided in its annual report, regarding the performance of its functions as the Minister may from time to time require.

(4) The Board may publish such other reports on matters related to its activities and functions as it may from time to time consider relevant and appropriate.

Reports to Board.

181. —(1) The Board may, on its request, be furnished with reports on any matter which, in the Board's opinion, concerns the private rented sector by the appropriate Minister of the Government or local authority who or which has responsibility for the area to which the matter pertains.

(2) The Board may make a report furnished to the Board under this section available to the Minister.

(3) In this section “private rented sector” has the same meaning as it has in section 151 .