Mr. Gerry Neary:

I was talking about this with Mr. Murphy in the car on the way over. There are probably ten registered practices that are on record as being bought. But there would be a significant lagging phase. We would be aware of many more practices that are sold but that have not been recorded as sold.

It is like the situation with the Property Registration Authority, PRA, and housing. I assure the committee that there has been a significant increase in the number of practices that have been bought, not in the past year or 18 months, but just since we last looked in on the Dáil during Second Stage of this Bill. I imagine that this legislation being pending is leading to a rush to buy practices. There is probably a feeling out there that this legislation has not been taken seriously, but as it goes through Stages, word is getting out that it might get through. There was a belief that it would go nowhere. The fact that people can see it solidifying into something that might become an Act has led to an acceleration to get in ahead of that cut-off point. People have moved. I am sure it is happening in west Cork. We are aware of another practice that has gone in County Galway, not the city of Galway. We are aware of other practices undergoing the very late stages of due diligence processes. We are a smaller market than England. Some 10% of practices in England is a large number. We have a population the same size as greater Manchester. Corporates took over 40% of Norwegian practices and 80% of clients in a short time.