Donegal says hello to IPAV

TÁNAISTE Mary Coughlan got an enthusiastic reception when she showed up at a conference attended by close to 150 auctioneers in Donegal last weekend. Newly elected president of the Irish Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (IPAV) Paul Reynolds, a fellow Donegal native, welcomed her most warmly before going on to urge the Government not to demolish unoccupied houses, of which Donegal has many.

Certainly any of the delegates travelling up through the country by car will have seen hundreds of newly built houses in fairly remote areas – especially in Cavan. He also called on the Tánaiste to hurry along the legislation that will give the National Property Services Regulatory Authority teeth at last. Though the organisation has been operating out of Navan for the past few years, it still has no legal status because of the inordinate delay in getting the legislation through the Oireachtas.

Coughlan indicated her willingness to put the law in place during her short speech, and afterwards at dinner, gave her ear almost continuously to Tom Lynch, the chief executive designate of the NPSRA. Lynch had earlier warned estate agents of the fines that would be imposed on rogue auctioneers once the legislation was enacted. In other words, he put the fear of God into the assembled agents, forcing many of them to wonder who would regulate the regulator. Lynch was not for moving and could be seen late into the night and into the next morning, sharing his views on regulation with auctioneers from up and down the country.

TCD economist Brian Lucey, who spoke earlier in the day, painted a fairly gloomy picture of the property market to come, while CBRE’s Patrick Koucheravy was a tad more optimistic. He was accompanied by his father, Ed, late of the US military, who now works for the Pentagon.

The conference took place in the splendid surroundings of the Solis Lough Eske Castle Hotel outside Donegal town. The five-star venue is owned by Pat Doherty of Harcourt Developments, currently developing the Titanic Quarter in Belfast. His business partner is Andrew Parker-Bowles, Camilla’s ex, and the two have six hotels now either open or under development. They can both be seen in the hotel, in the form of two portraits by celebrated artist Lucian Freud. Both paintings are copies – the originals, thought to be worth a combined €18 million, are in the bank.