Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter T.D., has welcomed Dáil approval of the Property Services (Regulation) Bill 2009.

He said that amendments he had tabled and which had been accepted during its passage through the Dáil, would introduce much-needed transparency to the residential and commercial property markets.

The Minister said: "I believe that publication of residential property sales prices and the establishment and maintenance of the Commercial Leases Database by the Property Services Regulatory Authority will help to restore much-needed confidence to the property market."

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The Minister said that he had also introduced new provisions to address the potentially serious conflict of interests which can arise where an auctioneer promotes an apparently attractive loan package to intending purchasers without revealing that the financial institution providing the loan had already funded the development.

He continued: "This conflict of interest has arisen in particular in the case of multi-unit developments where a financial institution has had links with the developer and sought to reduce its exposure to risk by assembling what appeared to be an attractive loan package for intending purchasers. Purchasers who availed of the package ended up paying ‘over the odds’ for the property."

Having completed its passage through the Dáil, the Bill will now return to the Seanad for consideration of Dáil amendments; the Minister said he was confident that the legislation would be enacted before the end of the year.

(CD)