Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Clearly, we need to bank what we agree on and there is a lot we do agree on. I am looking at it from both sides of the argument but I think we need to step into the shoes of the young people trying to buy properties. At the moment, they are incurring costs such as engineer's reports, getting architects out to check this and check that and trying to get loan approval, which expires after a certain time and then they have to go through the entire process again. It is hugely frustrating and we are talking about possibly incurring costs from a legal perspective if this legal pack is adopted. They are incurring costs anyway. With all due respect, I listened to the argument and I am not convinced by the argument put forward. Ms McKiernan made the point that this the way we have always done things. I fully accept that solicitors are there to protect their clients but the fact we have always done it this way does not make it right because clearly it is not right.

If I step into the shoes of a young couple trying to purchase a house and I know when I see a property on the market for sale, it is clearly fully compliant in all aspects. At least I know I am not wasting my time and if I so wish to get my own architect, my own surveyor and my own engineer to look over everything, that is fine. At least I know if I start the process of bidding on this property, the pack that is presented by the seller is fully compliant and I can conclude that sale. At the moment I do not and I am incurring cost and frustration because of that. Clearly, we need to step into the shoes of the purchaser when we are looking at this because it is not working. It is hugely frustrating and it ends up in rows at the end of the process and I would contend that the witnesses are experiencing that frustration. I know for a fact that IPAV members are because they are the first point of contact. The purchasers cannot always get in contact with their solicitor or sellers but they can get the auctioneers and it is hugely frustrating. It is broken, it needs to be fixed and I would contend that this measure goes a long way to fixing it.