Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 66: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the steps he will take to regulate managing agents of apartment complexes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9510/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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In July 2004, I commissioned the auctioneering-estate agency review group to examine the licensing and regulatory requirements for property practitioners going forward. I initiated the review against a background of a considerable level of public concern about specific selling practices in the property industry, apparent deficiencies in regulatory and supervisory arrangements in respect of service providers and the need to take account of new forms of property services. The review group comprised representatives of the auctioneering profession, consumers, the Competition Authority, the Law Society, the farming sector, the co-operatives sector and Departments.

I published the resulting report in October 2005 and, at the same time, I announced that the Government had approved one of its key recommendations, the establishment of the national property services regulatory authority. A further key recommendation is that the new authority should assume responsibility for the licensing and regulation of all trading entities providing auctioneering, estate agency, property letting and property management services.

Property management agencies are not currently regulated. The report recommends a specific class of licence for these agencies, that they contribute to an approved fidelity fund to protect client moneys and that they are made subject to oversight by the authority and to its vetting and complaints procedures.

The formal establishment of the new authority will have to await the enactment of the necessary legislation, which is in preparation at present. However, an implementation group is in place and working to assist and advise on preparations for the new authority including the recruitment of a director — advertised last week in national newspapers — the establishment of a headquarters in Navan, identification of staffing and training requirements, and advance planning of operational matters.