Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail)

I join colleagues in welcoming the Minister. There has been much discussion in recent months about affording the House an opportunity to discuss the regulation of the auctioneering business. For that reason, I welcome this debate which can help to clear up some of the misnomers that exist and allow us to examine further the areas that require investigation.

I agree with some elements of the motion brought forward, but the amendment we propose is a much better way to deal with the issue. There are some elements of what Senators O'Toole and Ross said that I find acceptable. The difficulty – Senator Coghlan alluded to it earlier – is that the overall thrust of the motion and the way it is phrased appears to suggest that auctioneers in general are somewhat untrustworthy or dishonest. That is the thrust of the motion, although it may not be the intention of the Senators. As a number of people said, however, the record contradicts it.

One only need consider the position of some of the other professional bodies. A previous speaker stated that many other professional bodies face a greater level of indictment in terms of the actions of their members. Despite the fact that there are some bad apples in the auctioneering industry, it is widely accepted that there have not been the same difficulties as those which occurred in the banking, stock broking, insurance and many other sectors. I would welcome a debate on those professions because they are highly regulated. In many cases they are covered by defining legislation, but problems consistently arise.