James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

It is a miracle that this Bill has finally appeared in the House. Even in the context of the Government's track record, the length of time it has taken to appear and, worse still, the false starts that have been associated with it, have been unbelievable. It is unacceptable that such urgently needed legislation was delayed for five years. This view has been expressed by many bodies that expected the legislation to be brought before the House before now.

As a public representative who is familiar with the problems experienced by people throughout Ireland, including my constituents, due to the lack of regulation of the property services sector, particularly with regard to property management agents, I welcome this Bill. I also welcome it as a licensed auctioneer who has awaited the regulation of this sector. I do not understand why the provisions of this legislation could not have been adequately dealt with in the Multi-Unit Developments Bill 2009. If the two Bills could have been brought together in such a manner, as Deputy Rabbitte suggested, it is necessary to criticise the blatant waste of public money and duplication involved in the separate introduction of the provisions of the previous Bill and the Bill before the House. When will Fianna Fáil and the Green Party start to save the taxpayer from unnecessary expenditure? Perhaps the Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern, who is going through his files as I speak, will explain why he felt two Bills were required. It seems that a single Bill could have covered all of these provisions. I recognise that the scope of the Multi-Unit Developments Bill 2009 was narrower, but it should have been possible to include all of the provisions under the umbrella of one Bill.

One of the main provisions of the legislation before the House is to give a legislative stamp to the National Property Services Regulatory Authority. The authority has been like a toothless dog, in so far as it has snarled occasionally but has had no bite. The establishment of another quango without legislative power has been another major waste of public money. It is another example of a Department trying to avoid taking responsibility for something that should be part of its operation. There is a strong case to be made that the establishment of the authority was a mistake from the outset. The Law Reform Commission made it clear that there was a sufficient number of regulatory bodies in the public service to implement the new legislation. The Government, in its wisdom, chose to ignore this recommendation. It is not surprising that the taxpayer, as always, is bearing the brunt. The authority has the best office accommodation in Navan, which is an expensive luxury in the absence of a fully stamped role.

Given that the bottom has fallen out of the property market, one wonders if the authority will ever have a vital role to play. The once urgent need to regulate estate agents and managing agents does not now seem quite so urgent. At a time when the regulation of its own operations is under scrutiny, the Government would be well advised to ensure the authority, which has the appearance of nothing more than an expensive quango, does not duplicate the functions of other centralised regulatory bodies in Dublin. Amalgamation is now the name of the game. It would be ironic if the authority were to be amalgamated before it had done little more than use up taxpayers' money. This time last year the National Building Agency, the Homeless Agency, the Affordable Homes Partnership and the Centre for Housing Research were amalgamated to cut expenditure. What price for an authority that has cost millions of euro but has been shackled by the Government's failure to give it legislative power?

One of the positives of this legislation is that, irrespective of whether the authority survives in the short or long term, it greatly strengthen the interest of apartment owners, which is welcome. It will also keep a tight rein of management agents whose services and charges have been a source of great anger and conflict. The matter of management fees must be addressed once and for all.

Expecting excited first-time buyers to pay management charges before moving into their new properties and refusing to hand over keys until charges are paid has become one of the greatest scams associated with the property market. Worse still, on many estates in my constituency of Longford-Westmeath, people were expected to pay charges before necessary infrastructure such as public lighting, footpaths and so on was in place. During the past few years, on many Sundays I have been called to public meetings on such estates where the issue of management fees was criticised. It needs to be addressed urgently.

These charges affect house and apartment owners alike. Evidence suggests there are serious problems regarding apartment complexes and housing estates and many residents feel powerless to address them. These problems relate primarily to common areas and the failure of builders and managing agents to maintain them while simultaneously charging high management fees that increase each year, often with little or no provision for a sinking fund, which is necessary to cover the high costs that occur every few years when major refurbishment is needed. Fees can often be higher than two mortgage repayments and residents are often at a loss to know what they are paying for and why.

As far back as 2002, the Programme for Government had committed to the regulation of management companies but eight years of misery for many have passed without resolution of these problems. With approximately €1 million per annum poured into the PSRA, it will be more than welcome to see it being given the power to finally function and carry out its brief with full powers to control and supervise licensees and maintain and improve standards in the provision of property services by licensees. Under this legislation, the authority will be given the power to oversee the issuing and renewal of licences, the establishment and maintenance of a register of licensees, the enforcement of requirements for the issuing an renewal of licences and minimum levels of professional indemnity, the specification and enforcement of technical and ethical standards, the dissemination of information, the establishment and administration of a compensation fund and the development and promotion of codes of practice and conduct.

In this regard, the authority has developed a code of practice for property service providers, auctioneers and estate agents, which set out the minimum standards to be expected from both. I was surprised that Deputy Kenneally was wondering whether this was provided for in the Bill. Not only will the authority take over this function from the Department, it will take over licensing responsibilities from the District Court. Will the Minister expand on this when he replies to Second Stage?

Unfortunately, the legislation does not solve the problem of ghost estates and the huge empty spaces that stand as the legacy of Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government, although the Progressive Democrats were partly responsible for what has happened and we tend to let them off hook. Some of its former members are still hovering around the House and they should not be let off the hook regarding the deprivation they have caused for communities and for our society. This is a legacy of shame that sees the Taoiseach stand as one who has destroyed the historic legacy of his party. He has shamed the memory of Eamon De Valera and the pride of nationalism. The replacement legacy was formed on the basis of greed and cronyism. Many of those involved frequented the Galway tent in the good years and made huge contributions to the Fianna Fáil Party. Such misplaced collusion with property developers and speculators has shamed the Taoiseach and his party both at home and abroad.

The people are left to pick up the pieces of their devastated counties, as is the case in my constituency where ghost estates haunt the landscape. I attended a meeting only last week with the manager of Westmeath County Council. One of his directors of services had a list of ghost estates in that county as long as my arm and the position is similar in Longford. I hope to get further information on this. Longford is one of the worst hit counties in the State, along with Leitrim and Cavan. The Government needs to wake up and create an incentive to sell off property on ghost estates. There is money in the country and we should not be conned about this. There are people with money but the country lacks hope. The Government should introduce a scheme for six months whereby stamp duty would not be applied to ghost estate properties. Many people in Dublin would love to have weekend homes in the midlands and they could maintain those homes. It would be better than having them lying idle with whin bushes growing in the door. Some of the estates have been idle for between five and eight years. A scheme such as this would offer a stimulus to kick-start the purchase of property on these estates.

We have wonderful tourism projects in the midlands and we have a rich heritage. We have fine rivers and lakes and recently the Royal Canal, which runs from Dublin through my constituency to meet up with the River Shannon at Clondra, was refurbished. We have many historic buildings, monuments and parks and there are arts centres in Longford, Mullingar and Athlone. Many customs and traditions are dying but they should be promoted as part of our tourism product. People whose families moved to Dublin two or three generations ago might like to move back on a weekend basis to see what rural Ireland has to offer. It has a great deal of offer and it is a great place to live, work and socialise. Agri-tourism options could also be explored.

The massive overproduction of housing units in counties Longford, Cavan, Roscommon, Leitrim and Sligo was fuelled by the misconceived upper Shannon renewal scheme introduced in 1998 by then Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, and it was wound down only on a phased basis by his successor, Deputy Cowen. Blame for the oversupply of housing in these counties rests on both their shoulders.

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