Speaking in the Dáil today, Deputy Burton asked “what progress, if any, has been made to bring forward legislation on management companies? The situation is deteriorating rapidly. There are apartment blocks where only three or four apartments have been sold. The management company situation is in complete chaos. These tenants are young people and the situation is also stopping people buying apartments. Does the Taoiseach have any idea when this legislation is coming in?”

The Taoiseach replied that the relevant ‘Bill is currently being drafted and will probably be brought forward in the next session.’

Speaking after the debate, Deputy Burton said “This is yet more prevarication from our do-nothing Government – they always seem to be one more report away from a decision, one more committee meeting away from action. I have been calling on them to legislate for management companies to relieve the misery from those at the mercy of cowboy operators in this unregulated sector. Even still, the only answer we get is that it will ‘probably happen in the next Dáil session’. This is simply unacceptable.”

“The ongoing saga now gives rise to a situation where appartment owners are, in effect, subsidising developers – as reported in yesterday’s Irish Times.