Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

-----by their solicitors so that, having made the biggest purchase of their lives, they are fully aware of their entitlements but more often they are not. While the State can spoonfeed people, as it does when it passes legislation, there would have to be some onus on advisers to give as much information as possible. There is no doubt that in the past 20 years, estates and apartment blocks have been completed, units sold and people have come away with the keys. They go to the ESB, Airtricity, Bord Gáis and so on but they are not told about the obligations in respect of the common areas and their rights and duties. That is a pity. I know the Law Society has endeavoured as much as possible to get its members to relay that information. However, so much of the information is in legalese that even if they were to give their clients the memorandums and articles of association of the management company, people would not read past the second paragraph. The point made by the Senator about the need to provide information is something we will consider, perhaps in terms of a provision obliging legal advisers, or the purchaser to provide some basic information about the entitlements and duties that exist with regard to the management company.