Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)

The dearth of legislation started just after the 2007 general election. In 2007 the number of Bills passed was the lowest since 1922. This is nothing new. One Bill mentioned was the property services regulatory authority Bill. That agency has been open since November 2007 and is twiddling its thumbs. It will cost €300,000 to run this year but has no legal powers to do the work it is supposed to do. The issue of exorbitant management fees and bad maintenance services by management companies is serious, and that Bill would give that agency powers to deal with those issues. The Government has been promising that legislation "next session" for the past few sessions. What is the delay?

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