Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

A very eminent Member of the other House wrote an article recently about how to become a member of the auctioneers' association. He is now trading, although I do not know if he is doing any business. He says that as long as one pays a bond of €12,700 and one does not have a police record, one can start out as an auctioneer. In his article, he states:

Today I can advertise as an auctioneer; I can buy and sell houses for commission; I can advise on guide prices; I can conduct auctions galore; I can gazump until the cows come home. Best of all, I can take in buckets of money from a gullible public. I am not subject to the prying inspections of the financial regulator, the Central Bank, any fig-leaf of an auctioneers' body — or anyone else.

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