Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

We recently passed the Garda Síochána Bill and the ombudsman commission is supposedly up and running. However, there are hitches regarding a number of matters which I do not want to go into and it does not seem we will have an effective ombudsman commission for 12 or 18 months. The Private Security Services Bill was published in 2001 and was passed in 2004. The Minister eventually appointed the authority in 2005. As we saw last week, security firms operate under a voluntary code because the authority has not drawn up a statutory code for them.

There is no sense in us passing legislation which requires a fair amount of structure to underpin it and then finding that nothing happens after the legislation is passed and it lies idle. The purpose of this Bill is to speed up and streamline the property market so we can move on deeds, titles and conveyancing, bring it into the electronic age and modernise it. I know it is not easy for the Minister of State to come here and speak on this Bill. Perhaps he will outline the steps that will be taken to ensure it is other than aspirational.

See this speech in context