LEGISLATION:THE DEBATE on the second stage of the Property Services (Regulation) Bill 2009, published this week by the Government, is scheduled to begin in the Seanad next Thursday.
The Bill, which will regulate the property industry, will give the National Property Services Regulatory Authority (NPSRA) power to licence everyone – auctioneers, letting agents and property management agents – providing property services in Ireland. It will replace the existing District Court-based system.
The legislation will also give the NPSRA, established in December 2006 at the height of the property boom, power to set and enforce education and training standards, promote consumer awareness and protection and establish a property services compensation fund.
It will not, it appears, provide clarity on house prices: information about these are covered by the Data Protection Act. The new Bill does not appear to permit agents to give out price information.
Both organisations representing auctioneers – the Institute of Professional Auctioneers Valuers (IPAV) and the Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute (IACVI) – have given a cautious welcome to the Bill. IPAV chief executive Fintan McNamara said he hopes “that the upcoming legislation will not place an undue financial burden on our members at this difficult time for them.
“This is the most significant piece of legislation in relation to the auctioneering profession in many years and its contents should be critically examined before being enacted in the Houses of the Oireachtas.”
Aine Myler, president of the IAVI, welcomed the publication of the Bill and said the institute would study it to see how closely it followed the recommendations of the industry review group. “The IAVI welcomes the introduction of mandatory professional indemnity insurance, educational standards for the industry and the proper control of client monies, regulations with which IAVI members already comply, but which are currently not the case for the unregulated sector of the industry.”
The debate on the Bill should be lively, given that senators like Shane Ross, a fierce critic of the property industry, and auctioneers like Fianna Fail’s Mark McSharry and Fine Gael’s Paul Coghlan are all members of the Seanad. The Bill will go to the Dáil after the Seanad debate is concluded, but given the lack of urgency attached to this piece of legislation so far, it seems unlikely to be pushed through in a hurry.
