Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. I have seen a reference to the timetable under which the new authority will work. As far as I can recall - of course I am liable to error - it will be talking about education and will be addressing the conveyancing issue. People want that issue to be addressed because it is the one that really hurts the consumers of legal services. I am afraid, with the best will in the world, that a delaying mechanism is being used. There is no need for it because the research has already been done. It is quite easy to compare the cost of conveyancing in this jurisdiction with the cost of conveyancing in the United Kingdom. I do not see a case for delays in a matter of serious public concern. I remind the House that during the boom period, house prices went from two and a half times the average income to 12 times the average income and the legal profession made an absolute fortune from being linked to house prices. That is the anti-competitive aspect of the legal sector about which the troika and the competition commission are concerned. I do not see the case for delaying yet again a reform that has been overdue for so long.