Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I can give the Deputy more assurance than he realises. I drew attention to the distinction between the agents and the companies because separate legislation is required to deal with each of those categories. In respect of agents, the legislation is not restricted simply to transferring the jurisdiction of the District Court to the new authority. The forthcoming legislation will go far beyond that — it is intended that it will regulate not only auctioneers but also the agents which provide the services for the property management companies. At the heart of the legislation that is being drafted is a desire to ensure that codes of practice, qualifications and proper standards are observed by agents. The authority that will operate the legislation has been established on a shadow and provisional basis, pending the enactment of the legislation. That is the position with regard to the agents. I am sure Deputy Rabbitte, on foot of his examination of the working paper that was produced by the Law Reform Commission, is familiar with the complex questions which arose in respect of the companies. The issues raised in the working paper are not simply matters of strict company law — they also concern consumer law and other branches of the law. It is intended to deal with those issues comprehensively when the LRC's report has been received. The interdepartmental committee was established to ensure that the issues being examined by the LRC, which will be reported on before the end of this year, can be dealt with in an expeditious way after the report has been published.

See this speech in context