Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

So did I, but they certainly took place and, unfortunately, were allowed to continue in the absence of adequate checks and balances.

I happened to be in China in 2005 meeting an Irish lawyer based in Hong Kong who talked to me about the collapse of the property market in 1997 in Hong Kong, when property prices decreased by 70%. The interesting point is that the number of legal practices in Hong Kong decreased from 6,000 to 2,000. That happened in 1997 but we did not look at how it could happen in Ireland. We did not see the warning signs and we had to wait until the last day when it was too late to take remedial action. An inquiry like this is welcome and it gives the opportunity for questions to be put. Hopefully we can get some answers at an early date. I thank the Minister for his work in the area and I wish whoever sits on the committee every success in trying to get reasonable answers to the questions put.