Ivana Bacik (Independent)

I wish to comment on section 59 to highlight an issue for consideration before Report Stage. I welcome the provisions in Part 6 of the Bill which will vastly improve the level of people's trust and confidence as both vendors and purchasers of houses. It is important to see the new rules being put in place. Section 59 which I also welcome requires licensees to retain records of the sale of land other than by auction for a period of six years. In that context, I wonder if the Minister has given thought to providing in the Bill for the publication of house prices through an openly available register. I am aware the matter has been discussed a great deal, although I cannot recall where I heard it being discussed recently. This has been done in other countries. I am aware that there were data protection concerns, but they can be overcome through anonymising the data. We already have auction prices that are published, but it is an issue that has been bubbling under the surface for some time. It would be an important way of making the housing market more transparent and something that would very much be in the interests of the consumer and might be appropriate to include in the Bill.