John Lyons (Dublin North West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I mean no disrespect to the Minister - I know it is not his fault - but I could have found out all of that information myself today. It is absolutely deplorable to be given such a response on a matter of urgency that was raised in a national newspaper last week and which affects thousands of people in houses and apartments all over the country. The reality is that unless there are enough resources and staff to implement the regulations that are in place, management companies are at the risk of failing. We had an example of that with Assured Property Management last week.

Many people are left wondering what would happen if their management company were to fail. They do not know, for example, if it will affect their home insurance, which is particularly worrying if something were to go wrong with their homes and indeed, we know that there are problems with many developments built during the boom. People may be left with no home insurance and with nowhere to turn. The law as it stands may address this matter but it makes it very complex and difficult for ordinary people, many of whom are working full time, because they must become directors of the management companies. In reality, many of these management companies are questionable and are often two sides of the same coin, with close links to the developers of the estates or complexes.

People need to know that if their management company fails, there will be some sort of compensation or support for them, possibly through the local authorities. We had a near miss last week with Assured Property Management. According to the website of the CRO, that company is now back in a normal state but the consequences of such a company failing are too drastic to contemplate. Residents would find that their refuse would not be collected, their estates would not be managed and ultimately, their home insurance would be invalid, despite having paid high management fees, not to mention the original cost of their homes.

I acknowledge that the Minister was asked to read the reply today and it is not his responsibility but I am highly dissatisfied that this is the type of response given to a public representative who raises a matter of national importance.

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