Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Question 262: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide a timeframe for the establishment of the new property database which is intended to track and record market trends and house prices. [14167/11]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Question 263: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the contact he has had with any groups representing estate agents, auctioneers or valuers with regard to the establishment of a property database to track and record market trends and house prices. [14168/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 262 and 263 together.

The Programme for Government contains a commitment to improve the quality of information available on the Irish housing market by requiring that the selling price of all dwellings is recorded in a publicly available national housing price database. I intend to give effect to this commitment by assigning statutory responsibility for publishing details of residential property sales prices to the Property Services Regulatory Authority.

The Property Services (Regulation) Bill 2009, which provides for establishment of the Authority, is currently awaiting Dail Committee Stage. I intend to table amendments to the Bill which will have the effect of expanding the Authority's statutory functions to include the publication of residential property sales prices. This information will be supplied to the Authority on an ongoing basis by the Revenue Commissioners who are in receipt of it for stamp duty purposes.

As regards the commercial property market, the issue of confidential side agreements, and the impact which these may have on rent reviews, was considered by the Working Group on transparency in commercial rent reviews which was established by my predecessor. That Group recommended the establishment of a public database which would include relevant details of letting agreements and rent reviews. In the amendments to the Property Services (Regulation) Bill 2009 to which I have already referred, I intend also to allocate responsibility for establishing and maintaining this database to the Property Services Regulatory Authority.

While I have not had contact with groups representing estate agents, auctioneers or valuers in relation to these proposals, I understand that there is broad support on the part of the property services sector for the Government's objective of improving transparency in the residential and commercial property markets.