Jim Glennon (Dublin North, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy has been on his way a long time and is still on the way.

I am delighted to have the opportunity to support the Minister's amendment to this motion. The amendment is the essence of common sense. This is a highly complex issue. We need only remember the history we learned in primary and secondary school which gave us a good grasp of the historical difficulties here with regard to land law to understand the essence of the difficulty presented in this case. The Law Reform Commission, as requested by Government, has been given the specific task of reviewing the law in this area, in particular this sector.

I speak from a position of some experience in that management companies have in recent years become quite prevalent in Dublin North, particularly in the towns undergoing rapid population explosion. We have many problems with regard to development in our towns and villages. While many of the developments under construction appear to be of a reasonably appropriate structural standard, thanks to the requirements of statutes in that regard, the emergence of the issue of management companies is quite new and is seen by many people — I have some sympathy with their view — as no more than a developers' scam for a lucrative ongoing flow of income into the distant future.

Based on the manner in which management companies operate in many instances, the term "mismanagement companies" would be more appropriate. There appears to be total disinterest by most and in some cases a mischievous approach to the management of estates with a view to forcing the issue on tenants to deal with a buy-out of the management company. The issue lends itself to unscrupulous behaviour on the part of developers. This behaviour is targeted at a vulnerable sector of the population. Unfortunately, the people who have walked into these arrangements with management companies are at their most financially stretched limit at the time.

I support the Minister's amendment and repeat what he said last night:

The whole area of property management is complex, involving a number of different dimensions and issues, including the role of developers, managing agents and their relationships; the role and responsibilities of management companies; the role of the new property services regulatory agency; practical issues such as the standard of maintenance, level of and increases in management charges; the application of conveyancing law and practice in this area; issues relating to the operation of owner-controlled management companies and requirements of company law in that context; and linkage, in some cases, between planning conditions and provisions relating to management companies in purchase contracts.

He said he was less than happy with the way some local authorities have operated in this area and went on to state he was less than happy with the way certain elements of the legal profession operated in the area. For those reasons, I strenuously support the Minister's amendment.

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