Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)

However, with one or two exceptions, the same journalists have hardly ever mentioned that their colleagues and the owners of their newspapers played a huge role in what has come to pass with the effective collapse of our fiscal position. This point must be noted and should be examined because either there is journalism or there is not. Journalism should be about giving the real facts about, for example, a housing development. It should ask whether it is a good housing development, whether it is well built or whether it could contain defective materials. However, there was no such investigation. People looked the other way but now, while Members try to pick up the pieces, some of those who were around in those days and who wrote on national politics and issues claim it had nothing to do with them. Nevertheless, it played a huge role in fanning the flames of what happened in the auctioneering profession. While this matter still requires examination, I welcome the belated beginning of the process to establish a property services regulatory authority.

I note that my colleague, Deputy Rabbitte, drew attention to the authority in the context of the exact manner in which the elimination of anti-competitive practices will be pursued in the future and I presume the regulator will have the final say in this regard. The Minister should return to the issue of how to ensure the prevention of a happy cartel of three or four auctioneering firms in a particular locality that decide what should be the price levels. The Minister must tease out this issue of anti-competitive practices in his response to the debate on the Bill in this House although I acknowledge it has passed through the Seanad.

In addition, the dearth of information has been a key problem for purchasers or renters of homes over the years. Again, the Minister should respond with regard to rents and to house prices. In future, will a register of all property sales be in place? My understanding from a quick reading of the Bill is that this does not appear to be the case. However, it clearly is critical for ordinary citizens to establish market level prices. In particular, it will be critical for people trying to establish their first home to know the facts and to know what are the market prices. It should not be a big secret or something that can be created, as was the bubble by a group of auctioneers aided and abetted by various newspapers. Will such a clear register of all property transactions be put in place? Will there be a clear register of rents or must such a measure await implementation by the Labour Party in the next Government? This is a key element the Government has not addressed.

The Minister is aware that my constituency of Dublin North-East contains what essentially is a planned new city of perhaps 50,000 people or more, namely, the north fringe. Its territory extends across the entire north side of Dublin city from Finglas across to my constituency on the coast. At present, because of the problems to which I referred earlier, the future development of the north fringe is on a knife edge. Perhaps 20% to 25% of the planned homes have been built in some parts of the area, such as Clongriffin, Belmayne, Burnell and The Coast in Baldoyle. There are tracts of derelict land where there is some development on one side while in field after field the soil has been stripped off but the land left derelict. A range of services, such as a health centre and supermarket, was planned for the area but they have simply not happened.

We are still trying to chase some of the problems that have emerged in the development. Worst of all, this area was gravely affected by the pyrite disaster. Between 2000 and 2007, because there was no invigilation of building regulations, a large number of homes were damaged by in-fill containing too great a proportion of pyrite. For that reason, I welcome the fact that the beginnings of an agreement was arrived at yesterday in the Commercial Court between Menolly Homes and Lagan Construction regarding the remediation of, perhaps, 500 homes in Drynam Hall in Kinsealy, The Coast in Baldoyle and Beaupark in Clongriffin. I understand a fund of up to €40 million is being created and efforts will be made to liaise with the legal representatives of householders to reach a long-term agreement for the repair of those homes. It has been claimed - I said it myself in this House - that up to 20,000 housing units in the north fringe, Fingal, Meath, Louth and a large part of north Leinster may be affected by pyrite damage. This results from the lack of regulation by the Government during the property boom. The agreement is welcome. Thanks to the work of the High Court, we now have the beginnings of an agreement for the remediation of these 500 homes in the north fringe.

The great distress that householders in the north fringe have suffered takes us back to the business before the House today. At long last, we are trying to create a regulator for the property market. In The Coast in Baldoyle, there are apartment complexes for which the local authority refuses to give a fire certificate and in parts of the estates there is a range of other problems. Much of this can be traced back to the failure of the Government to bring forward the requisite legislation.

I welcome the Bill. We need to examine again the issues relating to competition, pricing and rental agreements. It is deplorable that it is only when the Government is past the 11th hour of its life that it is finally bringing in legislation to establish a reasonable and fair regulation of the property sector. It is better late than never but this is another area where the Government badly failed the country and another reason we need to have a new Government as soon as possible.

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