Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of applicants for a licence pursuant to the Property Service (Regulations) Act 2011, that have been found to have been operating without the requisite licence or permit under the Auctioneers and House Agents Acts 1947 to 1973 for three of the five years immediately preceding their application; the number of applications that are currently being queried on account of not presenting evidence to date of holding such a licence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45362/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I refer the Deputy to Questions Nos. 450, 451 and 452 of 9th October 2012. The Deputy asks for the number of licence applicants “that have been found to have been operating without the requisite licence permit under the Auctioneers and House Agents Acts 1947 to 1973 for three of the five years immediately preceding their application”. The Authority does not seek this information generally for the purposes of the licence application as it has relevance only in very specific circumstances. Consequently, it does not have the information which the Deputy is seeking.

The only time where the holding of a licence from the Revenue Commissioners for three of the five years immediately preceding the making of the application is relevant is where the applicant is presenting it as evidence of their qualification. In this regard it should be noted that one of a number of criteria which must be met before a licence may be granted is that the applicant meets the statutory “minimum qualifications”. This requires that an applicant have either a minimum “academic qualification” or a “minimum level of experience”. A “minimum level of experience” means, having been lawfully engaged in the provision of the property service, in respect of which the licence is sought, for three of the five years immediately preceding the making of the application. Such experience may be verified in a number of ways, including the presentation of three licences issued by the Revenue Commissioners in the five years immediately preceding the making of the application.