Aubrey McCarthy
University of Dublin · Independent · Ireland
“I briefly mention what my colleague Senator Andrews mentioned about the accommodation recognition payment, ARP, and its proposed reduction for those who are hosting Ukrainians in Ireland.”
“I have travelled to Ukraine and seen first-hand the resilience and dignity of the people. Many of the people I hosted are from Mariupol and have nothing to go back to. They are not just people receiving support but people who have become part of the community here. We should never forget why they came here in the first place.”
“Just as I was coming in this morning, standing on the lawn at the Merrion side of Leinster House it is hard to ignore the ragwort that is growing on the grass. Under the Noxious Weeds Act 1936, ragwort is a noxious weed.”
“I extend the welcome to Emma and Adam. I first met them through our homeless services at the Lighthouse Homeless Café. They came to access services. Adam is a bright lad. He is studying away. He is a fanatic when it comes to basketball and I hope that one day, he will play for Ireland, if not in the NBA in the US.”
“As someone who has spent over two decades in Tiglin, trying to get people from homelessness, addiction and domestic abuse back into employment and education, I can say that the Mr Price model works very well.”
“I hope we ensure that people such as Adam are given every chance to fulfil their dreams. I wish Emma and Adam every success. I thank Emma for volunteering at the Lighthouse with my manager, Mr. Rob Byrne. It is something special. I welcome the Belgian Ambassador to the House. He is a wonderful representative of his country.”
The complete record
Every one of 649 lines we hold for Aubrey McCarthy, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 6 of 13.
“The Finnish model is one area to look at in this regard. I welcome the Minister of State's willingness to bring this issue to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. I urge that this be done fairly swiftly. The greatest tribute we can offer Conor, Darragh and Carla is not sympathy alone but reform in this area, so that no other parent will have to sit in the Public Gallery, having lost his or her children to tragic circumstances.”
“I thank the Minister of State. She stated there is family engagement and it is a matter of discretion, etc. My fear is that the family in this situation was engaged with but the co-parent was not. It seems the greatest concern of the family, rightly, was their family member. However, it seems the children were missed. The co-parent, who has the responsibility for and interest in the children, was not informed. That is a big gap. Nobody engaged with him. We have to question, then, who is there for the children in this regard. The Minister of State mentioned discretion. Andrew McGinley is sitting in the Public Gallery, and they were his children too. Why does one parent, who is being treated for mental health issues, have the right to make all the decisions while the other co-parent is not involved?”
“What is needed now is clarity in the legislation that will ensure clinicians have a clear statutory obligation to consider the best interests of the child whenever a parent's mental health or decision-making capacity is in question. Clarity that ensures the involvement of the co-parent cannot be optional. It has to be an integral part of the process. Clarity that aligns clinical practice with the spirit of both Acts is essential. I ask the Minister of State to indicate whether the current legislation adequately provides this clarity for clinicians. If not, as the evidence suggests, I ask her to commit to amending the legislation or issuing statutory guidance to remove any doubt. We owe it to families across this country to ensure the system is designed to protect children. It cannot fail them again.”
“The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 protects the autonomy of individuals, while recognising that decision-making requires safeguards. When these Acts intersect in real clinical settings, this is where the situation becomes blurred. Clinicians have repeatedly expressed uncertainty about their obligations in this area. Some believe that confidentiality prevents them from involving a co-parent. Others are unsure whether the mandatory threshold for reporting has been met. In the absence of explicit statutory direction, decisions then vary widely. The problem is that this can be catastrophic, as we know in the case of Andrew McGinley's family. Ambiguity in this area is not only a technical oversight but a safeguarding concern. It leaves clinicians exposed and also leaves co-parents uninformed. Children are then unprotected.”
“This decision was made without informing her husband of her true diagnosis, disclosing the suicidal ideation and providing him with the necessary information to protect his own children. It is not a failure of compassion or of professionalism. It is a clear failure of the law and its clarity. It is a failure of the framework legislation regarding how clinicians are governed when it comes to balancing patient confidentiality with child protection and co-parental rights. Two Acts are central here. One is the Children First Act 2015 and the other is the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015. Both are very strong in principle. The Children First Act 2015 makes the welfare of the child paramount.”
“I welcome him here today and I thank him for his continued commitment to child safety and clarity of legislation. The matter I wish to address today is rooted in the simple but vital principle that when clinical decisions about a patient have implications for the patient's children or the co-parent, the co-parent must have the right to be fully informed, fully advised and fully supported. No clinician should have the authority automatically to make decisions in isolation where the outcomes may directly impact the safety, welfare and rights of children and the other parent. Yet, this is precisely what happened in the McGinley case. Clinicians in this case made a decision to discharge a patient whom they regarded as suicidal, a patient who had explicitly stated she did not want to be around her children and did not want to go back home.”
“I thank the Minister of State for being here to take this Commencement matter. I wish to raise an issue that sits at the very intersection between mental healthcare, child protection and the rights of co-parents. It is an issue where there is ambiguity in the legislation, and it has already had devastating consequences. Before I begin, I wish to mention two guests of mine in the Public Gallery. One is Councillor Gayle Ralph and the other is Mr. Andrew McGinley. Many in this House will know Andrew's story. His children Conor, Darragh and Carla were tragically taken from him in circumstances that shook the nation. Andrew has shown extraordinary courage in channelling his grief into advocacy, seeking answers and reforms so that no other family experiences exactly what he has endured.”
“It certainly affects older populations, but Sarah was only 34. We now have fewer effective drugs to treat the condition. Professor Kerrigan stated that we need to take three steps. First, Ireland needs to commit to developing a national timebound sepsis strategy that aligns with international best practice and then scale that to cover the health system here. Second, as we have the EU Presidency in the second half of this year, sepsis should be formally considered as one of our priorities, particularly in the context of antimicrobial resistance, hospital safety and ageing populations. Third, both Houses of the Oireachtas should support further engagement by referring this issue to the relevant Ministers, Department and Oireachtas committees. It is essential that sepsis awareness is at the forefront of what we do here.”
“Yesterday, the petitions committee, of which I am a member, was addressed by Sinead O'Reilly. She spoke about her sister-in-law Sarah O'Reilly, the 34-year-old mum of twins, P.J. and Lilly. Sarah developed a fever. At first they thought it was pneumonia, and then gallstones. She was brought to hospital. After a number of weeks in ICU, she passed away. The issue was sepsis. To hear that harrowing story was horrendous. An external review found that if the sepsis protocol had been activated and followed, a different response could have come about and Sarah could be alive today. The committee also heard from Professor Steve Kerrigan, who outlined the number of people who have died from sepsis in Europe. The figures are phenomenal. We are talking about millions. The uncomfortable truth is that sepsis is a very real danger.”
“I simply ask that the Minister look at this proposal and give it urgent and positive consideration so Ireland can play its full part in capturing a moment of wonder. In August, this will be world news and Ireland can play a key role on the stage.”
“They are using specialist imaging equipment that is usually deployed in space. Irish science and Irish aviation will work in collaboration to capture this unique moment. It is an opportunity that should not be missed, but has been paused because the planning cannot move forward without permission from the Department of Defence. That approval is needed for the necessary flight tests to take place. An application was submitted last June and time is now moving on. It is nearly the end of February. This is not just about the images. It is about curiosity and education and putting Ireland at the forefront of what will be a phenomenon. In moments such as this, we have to act fast and not miss out.”
“I will briefly bring up an issue that is a huge opportunity for Ireland and the Houses of the Oireachtas. It is something we could be genuinely proud of and should not miss. On 12 August 2026, there will be a rare and remarkable solar eclipse. It will be a total solar eclipse off the Atlantic coast. While it will not be possible to see it in its totality from the land, an extraordinary Irish-led scientific mission is ready to bring that moment to life for all citizens of Ireland and the world. It is simple. An Irish aircraft would fly west over the Atlantic to capture the first images of the eclipse, working alongside leading scientists from the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, DIAS, the European Space Agency, ESA, Trinity College Dublin and the Technological University Dublin, TUD.”
“If one parent’s capacity to protect their children is impaired, then the system itself must ensure that the other parent is fully informed so that children remain safe. Children cannot be invisible in clinical notes or in decision-making and only visible when tragedy occurs. It is not about looking backwards but about making sure the law is strong in this regard to protect children in the future. In the end, the mental health system is judged not only by how it treats mental illness but by how well it protects the most vulnerable, and in this case children.”
“When information is withheld, a parent is not just uninformed but prevented from safeguarding their own children, and that cannot happen. Second, on the control of prescription medication, where clinicians know that a patient is accessing medication that has not been prescribed to them, especially where suicidal ideation has been recorded, there is a clear duty to intervene. We need statutory safeguards for return of medication after a person dies and clear legal consequences where prescription drugs are supplied outside proper clinical care. These are simple protections that could save lives. Third, children must come first. The law is clear. The best interests of the child must come first.”
“I recently had a meeting with a gentleman called Andrew McGinley who lost his three children to familicide. We were discussing the Mental Health Bill 2024 and how it has been addressed in this House. He noted that three areas were glaringly missing from the legislation, and these were basically at the heart of child safety, parental responsibility and basic safeguarding. The first was co-parenting rights. When clinical decisions are being made about a parent that could impact their children, the other parent cannot be left without that critical information. Parents share responsibility for their children under the Children First Act 2015, but it is not possible for parents to protect their children if they are not given the information, are not told the truth, and if it is not transparent and the risks are not shown.”
“They are a solid, respected, well-paid career path. Well-paid is up for debate, and we need to focus on that. Apprenticeships do not just build workers. They build confidence and communities, and ultimately that will build a fairer Ireland. We need to make sure everyone, regardless of background, age, etc, gets the chance to work, learn and thrive.”
“If we are serious about inclusion, apprenticeships have to be across the board, not only for adults, but also school leavers and vice versa . Second chances do matter, but we also need to be honest about where the country is at. I am on the housing committee, and we have been debating housing supply. We have targets, plans and strategies but plans will not build the homes. We need skilled people with an emphasis on more electricians, plumbers, carpenters and bricklayers. If we want houses built, it is essential that we first deliver the workforce to deliver the houses. That means expanding the apprenticeship places, giving certainty around funding, and strengthening the partnerships between the Government, industry and community organisations. It also means changing the narrative. Apprenticeships are no longer a fallback.”
“That can be for people who have been marginalised or who have struggled with education or unemployment, and it helps them to find their feet again with real, structured training programmes and not handouts. It definitely turns their lives around. I know from my own experience of apprenticeship schemes that they are full of people who want to work and to belong, and apprenticeships give that pathway. If we look across the country, social enterprises are doing incredible work and providing safe, supportive environments where people can learn skills and rebuild confidence as they re-enter the workplace with purpose, but they cannot do that on goodwill alone. Apprenticeship programmes can be fully integrated into the national system using social enterprises. There is huge potential there that is not realised.”
“Her employer, John Dwan, is here along with his wife Noreen and the operations director of the Rose of Tralee, Steve Crowley. They are going to buy me dinner after the debate. It is wonderful to have them all here today. What matters about the apprenticeship scheme is that it is not seen as a second option anymore. It used to be the poorer cousin, and if a person did not go to university, he or she did an apprenticeship. Now it seems everybody is taking the university pathway, whereas to get an apprenticeship is the gold ticket. I helped co-found a charity called Tiglin, which works with people who are marginalised. From my own experience in working with communities, what I have seen through the social enterprises that we have set up is that apprenticeships can turn lives around.”
“I thank the Minister of State for being here today. I welcome the chance to speak on apprenticeships. They can be very positive. However, as my colleague Senator Tully has mentioned, there are issues regarding wages, reimbursement and the allowances for buying tools. Ireland could lead the way because it is not just about skills or the training programmes. It is also about opportunity. Senator Scahill mentioned my neighbour Sean Mulryan. He comes from Roscommon but lives beside me in Kildare. He is an example of what can be achieved when we invest in the right programmes. The mention of AnCO brought back memories. I also want to acknowledge the Rose of Tralee, Katelyn Cummins. Even her being part of the apprenticeship programme shows leadership. It also motivates other young women.”
“Will the Leader request that the relevant Ministers urgently revisit the matter, engage directly with the fishing community in Greystones and ensure that the settlement that is implemented is workable, fair and respectful of a tradition that predates all of the recent development of the marina?”
“People who know Greystones and the new marina are aware it is a fantastic facility, but families who have been involved in fishing for up to five generations have spent 15 years in the courts trying to get their fishing rights back from the very harbour that they fished out of initially, and it now looks like they will have to go back to court again. They were removed from the old harbour in 2008 for the redevelopment and they have since faced repeated attempts to push them out again. A legal settlement was reached only recently to provide a safe functional area, yet the fishing community tells me that the Department think it is fixed, but in practical terms on the ground it is actually not. The new marina is a wonderful place, but the fishermen and their activities should be able to coexist.”
“I was contacted by the fishing community in Greystones. Despite a recent High Court settlement, the reality on the ground has not changed in any meaningful way. The conditions attached for the fishermen to secure a commercial berth are so restrictive that in practice it nearly makes it impossible. It looks like they will have to go back to court in order to continue fishing, and I know that was not the intention of the court outcome. I am deeply concerned about the fees being proposed for the use of the harbour facilities. They are significantly higher than anywhere else in the county, but also higher than elsewhere in the State. There appears to be no consistent method of calculating these charges. That raises questions about fairness. The issue goes well beyond the individual operators.”
“When I was elected to this House last year, there were over 15,000 people in emergency accommodation. The most recent figures, which came out last year, show that there has been a 12% increase overall. There was a small drop in December, but if we take into account temporary accommodation and families taking in some of their family members, that seasonal dip does not really show, and it should not distract us. It does not change the underlying trend that we are going the wrong way with homelessness. I was delighted to see the Taoiseach and the Minister for housing, Deputy Browne, open the new 75-bed Simon facility that is much needed in Dublin. However, what matters most is a housing policy that actually delivers housing for all those people, and it needs to be an absolute priority. I also want to mention an ongoing matter.”
“Investing back in the very community she came from shows the nature of the athlete. In her interview with RTÉ Sport, she said she has a strong desire to end her professional boxing career in Croke Park. Her most recent fight was in July 2025. Ending her career on a high note in Croke Park would be amazing. Croke Park and the GAA have their own decisions to make but facilitating our world-class athlete's request would be momentous. It would be wonderful for the people of Ireland and for those who look up to Katie in the world of sport.”
“In the past week, our world champion Katie Taylor spoke about her impending retirement. She believes she will retire at the end of the year. Senator Andrews raised this matter before. Katie Taylor is an absolute model of supreme athletic ability in Ireland. We should all look up to her and support her. During the summer, she and her husband visited Tiglin and spent time with the students on the programme there. This had a real impact on them. Katie Taylor was recognised as lady of the year at the American Partnership's Nollaig na mBan event in Boston. She was given €10,000 to appear. She said she wanted to give this to Tiglin, the charity she visited. The organisation was so impressed by her speech and what she said about Tiglin that it doubled the amount to €20,000.”
“Given that the scale of the scheme is potentially up to €2.5 billion, it is essential that the State clarify how recovery from responsible parties will be pursued. Taxpayers cannot be left once again carrying an open-ended liability for failures in design, workmanship or oversight. My point No. 4.7 seeks to ensure remediation is delivered swiftly and fairly. On another note, at our homeless cafe last night, namely, the Lighthouse on Pearse Street, we had five Members of Leinster House and both past and present employees playing wonderful Irish music to our homeless guests. The previous Clerk of the Seanad, Martin Groves, led the band and they were fantastic. I have high hopes for Martin Hughes in the future, when he retires.”
“I have just come from the audiovisual room where we launched the report on the pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of the apartment and duplex defects remediation Bill. It is an important step for many householders who have been living with structural, fire safety and water ingress defects through no fault of their own. It represents a huge step forward and a necessary commitment by the State. It is equally important that we confront a gap, which I have raised in point No. 4.7 in the report. We are urging the Minister to go for the developers, the certifiers and insurers to make sure there is recovery and accountability so that there is responsibility and the taxpayer does not fund all of the remediation, where possible.”
“It is a horrible scenario at the moment, which Dr. Ivers described, and it is a realistic one, but it can turn into a good news story with the proper supports and funding available.”
“We have a new initiative with the South Inner City Drugs and Alcohol Task Force, whereby a key worker goes out to provide a community-based approach and a support service for people affected by cocaine and crack cocaine use. That is a health-led example of what we can do in the community in partnership with local services across Dublin's south inner city. By working with the community, we can make a difference. People can and do rebuild their lives. Many people in this House have attended presentations in the audiovisual room that show that when the supports are there, including housing, family supports and so on, people can believe in themselves and recovery is possible with joined-up services. They need a willingness from the Government to act early rather than waiting until we are already in crisis.”
“I have spoken in this House before about drug-related intimidation and a lot of that is regarding cocaine debt. One of the strongest messages Dr. Ivers gave was that addiction does not discriminate. Enforcement alone will not solve the problem. We cannot arrest all the people for a way out of addiction. We need a health-led, compassionate approach that recognises addiction as an illness, and a response that invests properly in prevention, early intervention, treatment and recovery. There are wonderful organisations out there. Tiglin, the organisation I am involved in, has seen presentations for cocaine powder raise to 24.9% and for crack cocaine to 17%.”
“Last week there was an interview on "The Anton Savage Show" between Anton and a professor of addiction studies in Trinity College, Dr. Jo-Hanna Ivers. She focused on the rapid rise of cocaine use in Ireland, which should be a serious concern to all of us. She mentioned that cocaine is no longer a fringe drug but is firmly moving into the mainstream in every family and community, in family homes and social settings. With that normalisation comes a very dangerous illusion that cocaine is somehow less harmful, less destructive and more acceptable. Through my own work with Tiglin, I have seen the real damage that cocaine addiction causes, not just to the person but also to the partners living in constant anxiety, the children growing up in instability and communities dealing with the consequences.”
“What is the Government's plan to make that pre-sale information available without introducing new legislation? I can press the motion or accept the amendment. I just want to make a difference in the housing sector to try to make sure that people like Keith, who I mentioned earlier, can be helped and we all move together. I never see myself as in opposition to anybody. I want to work forward. Anybody who knows me in the House knows that I have a track record of working together in good faith and listening carefully. Yet, at the same time, I can step back when it helps to deliver real progress rather than simply winning an argument.”
“The Minister of State said: I wish to assure the Independent Group that it is also intended that this area is kept under review. If the implementation of codes of practice does not result in the efficiencies expected, the legislative route will be revisited in the future. My fear is that no timeline is given. Ireland's home buying process is far too slow and too risky. The seller's legal pack is a simple, effective way to fix that issue by ensuring that all the critical information is on the table. If the Government is considering plausible and enforceable measures on a non-legislative basis, there is an absence of a timeline. That is what we need to focus on. If the Minister of State can tell me the plans and deadlines right now, that would be greatly appreciated.”
“I have listened to colleagues and enjoyed the debate. I also listened carefully to the amendment. I thank the Minister of State for his response. I thank Senators for contributing. It is helpful to realise that we are all on the same page. Point-scoring was mentioned but that is certainly not what I am about. Senator Cathal Byrne summed it up lovely when he said that we are all seeing that there are issues in this process. Perhaps, further work needs to be done, but we definitely see there are issues. I forgot to mention when I first spoke about former Deputy, Marc MacSharry who brought forward the seller's legal pack Bill in the Dáil. The Government's amendment concludes that non-statutory implementation is the most effective way and achieving an eight-week national conveyancing target is what is in mind.”
“If it is not possible to address all of the issues outlined in the report perhaps the Government would introduce a Bill or multiple Bills so that it is possible to avail of as many of the benefits as possible. I believe that this is achievable and is necessary to aid buyers and sellers. I have always said that when there is a blockage let us sit down and see how we can unblock it, so that is the proposal for this motion. I thank the Minister of State.”
“It places the stated ambitions of the Government on a clear legislative footing and delivers practical, long overdue reform. It will reduce delays, reduce costs, and reduce stress for people. In conclusion, the motion provides that the Government would: address the issues outlined in the report on detailed scrutiny of the Seller’s Legal Pack for Property Buyers Bill 2021; address the concerns about the conveyancing raised by IPAV and the Law Society of Ireland in their previous submission; liaise with IPAV regarding how a new and updated version of the seller's legal pack could be made possible; and bring forward an updated version of the Bill that will implement all the benefits of the original 2021 Bill within the timeline of the Government.”
“It was supported by Opposition housing spokespersons and members of the Joint Committee on Justice. In July 2024, the committee completed detailed scrutiny and determined that the Bill should proceed to Committee Stage. It is also supported by leading property firms and by over 2,000 licensed agents across every county. This is nearly half of all the agents in the State. Public support is equally as strong. An Ireland Thinks survey found 77% of public support for this pack and it rises to 81% among younger adults, which is interesting. Of IPAV members, 97% report frustration with the current conveyancing delays and strongly endorsed this seller's pack. Housing accessibility, which I have always championed, is for consumers and they want this legislation. That is what this motion is trying to facilitate.”
“My own experience last year was that we bought a place in May and it closed in December. In July 2025, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, raised concerns about the lack of the upfront information for home buyers. It specifically mentioned the seller's legal pack as a practical solution to that. The CCPC identified that ensuring the essential documents such as title deeds, BER certificates and planning and compliance, will short-circuit the process if they are available beforehand and it could reduce timelines from 17 weeks on average to eight weeks. Support for this seller's pack is broad and it is genuine. It received cross-party engagement in the Thirty-third Dáil, including from the former Minister for Justice, Deputy Helen McEntee, who did not oppose it on Second Stage.”
“While there has been some progress in the probate aspect of it, no measures introduced today have materially reduced conveyancing delays. Measures such as the national e-conveyancing system, or any digital system, will only be as effective as the documentation that it requires from the outset. Again, if we do not front-load the conveyancing process, digitalisation alone will not shorten house purchasing timelines. From IPAV's perspective, two simple issues remain. The first is the absence of mandatory standardised upfront legal documentation. The second is the lack of agreed communication timelines between the solicitor and the property service provider. Even the Law Society's own research shows that sales can take anywhere from six months to several years to complete.”
“The seller's legal pack improves upon these voluntary approaches and is designed to work for conveyancers, solicitors, auctioneers and consumers alike. The Housing For All conveyancing and probate implementation group drew on evidence from the Legal Services Regulatory Authority, LSRA, and they confirmed that Irish buyers are now facing longer timelines and higher costs than buyers from other jurisdictions. The group recommended an eight-week conveyancing target. That is easily accessible if upfront information is put with the property before it is marketed. That also reflects the programme for Government. Despite all of these well-intentioned negotiations, meaningful reform has not been delivered. The establishment of the expert group on conveyancing and probate nearly two years ago offered a real opportunity to address these issues.”
“It would therefore significantly reduce the likelihood of sales falling through due to delays or dues to loan approvals expiring, which is the reality that many families face. International experience has also shown that this works in many other jurisdictions. Previous opportunities to address conveyancing delays in Ireland were well-intentioned but did not succeed. The voluntary pre-contract investigation of title, PCIT, did not deliver the change required even though it was launched with such fanfare. For over ten years, agents have guided vendors in line with proposals from the conveyancing and probate implementation group's best practice charter for solicitors and agents. That document itself has no teeth and is not making a difference. As a result, delays persist, imposing unnecessary costs and uncertainty on consumers.”
“That is the lived reality of people trying to build stability for themselves and their families. What the seller's legal pack does is exactly what it says on the tin. It creates a statutory requirement for a pack to be made available when a property is marketable and placed on the market. If we front-load the conveyancing process and confirm the saleability of a property at the outset, transaction times should reduce by up to 50%. That would streamline costs, prevent gazumping and deliver greater certainty and transparency for the likes of Keith without imposing any additional costs on him or the seller. The seller's legal pack would reform the property sales process by allowing private sales to be treated exactly as they are doing with online sales where legal documentation is uploaded upfront and buyers know where they stand.”
“Rather, it was caused by a system that withholds critical legal information from the purchaser, leaving people already financially and emotionally committed only for it all to fall apart. The seller’s legal pack would have saved Keith and his family time and money. It would have spared him months of stress and uncertainty at one of the most important times of his life. We know his story is not isolated. Reporting in the national media highlights the emotional toll that the Irish home-buying process imposes on ordinary families. A feature recently in The Irish Times described how many people feel when buying a home, which is a process filled with frustration, uncertainty and endless back and forth, that they are fighting a mental war. Their hope too often gives way to anxiety and then the offers, bids and timelines drag on without clarity.”
“He saved up and worked hard and, eventually, he went sale agreed on what he hoped would be his first home. He paid for the survey, evaluation and legal fees. He planned his whole life around this purchase. Weeks later, after all of that - let us remember that the mortgage had been approved and it had an expiry date - a title issue emerged. This title issue had existed long before the property ever went on sale and the sale collapsed and his loan offer expired. His outlay, savings and plans were badly hit. He was back at square one, still renting and paying sky-high prices. That is on top of carrying the emotional weight of his plans all going down the toilet when they should never have progressed as far as they did in the first place. The experience was not caused by recklessness or bad behaviour.”
“For most people, buying a home is possibly the biggest financial decision they will ever make. Far too often, after a property goes sale agreed, families are left in limbo. They are paying for all the surveys, evaluations and legal advice, etc., only to discover that late in the process there are unresolved issues such as issues with the deed, boundaries, etc., or maybe planning. That is not just inefficient; it is unfair. I will provide an example. As an approved housing body, we were working on an apartment recently - I spoke about this at the housing committee today – and it took us eight months because all the paperwork was not in place. I spoke to one of my constituents, Keith. He is a wonderful guy from Greystones and he allowed me to use his example. Like so many people his age, he did everything he was told to do.”
“The conveyancing process in Ireland has become inefficient, onerous and, in many cases, detrimental to people trying to buy or sell a home. What should be a straightforward transaction is often characterised by unavoidable delay. With the original Bill, IPAV sought to address these conveyancing issues and delays as a matter of legislative urgency. Those delays are now part and parcel of our housing market. They are contributing to property sales often falling through at a time of a severe housing crisis. On average, it takes four months from the point a property is placed on the market to when the transaction finally closes and the person gets the keys. That period of uncertainty drives up costs, undermines confidence in the market and places enormous emotional strain on buyers and sellers alike.”
“Housing accessibility is what this motion is all about. That is what it aims to facilitate. The proposal talks about establishing a statutory procedure whereby, when a seller of a property places the property on the market, a set of legal documents - the seller’s legal pack - will be compiled and advertised with the property and made available to potential buyers. Such documents will ensure that buyers have all the key information relating to the property and the conveyancing process is more efficient than it presently is. By way of background, the seller’s legal pack was put forward previously. It was devised and championed by Pat Davitt, former CEO of IPAV, after many years of complaints and research from both property people and consumers alike. Those concerns over the years are well founded.”
“I thank the Minister of State for being here. I also acknowledge former Senator, Lorraine Higgins and the members of the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers, IPAV, including its CEO, Ms Genevieve McGuirk. The reason I am bringing this up is, as many Members will know, I am involved in housing and homelessness and I see blockages. I am a member of the housing committee and I am involved in an approved housing body, AHB. Day to day, I constantly see people queuing to try to buy houses and there are blockages all the way. The motion I am putting forward goes to the very heart of how people in Ireland are experiencing the housing system, not just in theory but in their everyday lives and lived experience. Whether buying or selling a home, it is clear it is unnecessarily stressful, uncertain and costing a lot of money.”
“issue with deeds, boundary issues and other matters) and these properties should not be on the market until they are saleable; - the figure from all four surveys highlight the need for a radical change in the conveyancing and house purchasing process, to make it more accessible and easier to navigate for consumers; - the surveys also found that the average number of weeks it takes from when a property is ‘sale agreed’ to when contracts are signed is ten, and it takes six weeks from the signing of the sales contracts to the date the sale closes; - in 2021, the IPAV, as the representative body responsible for standards in the property sales industry, took the view that the SLP would substantially reduce the delays incurred in the current sales process which they consider to be unaligned, rife with uncertainty and which present legal risks to the vendor; - the SLP would result in the following benefits: - reducing the number of property sales which fall through; - cutting down the conveyancing timeframe that encourages gazumping or gazundering to take place; - streamlining the conveyancing process to align with public and online property auctions; - allowing for the filtering of properties prior to sale to confirm saleability; - reducing the potential liability for the seller/vendor; - reducing conveyancing times as the larger part of the process would now be front loaded; - there would also be additional non-monetary benefits, including but not limited to: - increased transparency; - greater certainty; - reduced transaction times; and - reduced stress in the purchase of a property; - the pack would make issues arising from non-refundable costs such as surveys, legal bills and mortgage valuations, should the deal fall through due to lack of important information up front, all easier to resolve; - when a seller places their property on the market, an SLP would be compiled and advertised with the property, which can then be sent to potential buyers; - the ultimate objective of the SLP is to influence the development of a sustainable property market where people can buy or sell properties in a cost-effective manner with reduced delays; notes that: - the Seller’s Legal Pack for Property Buyers Bill 2021 draws upon similar initiatives in the UK, notably the Home Information Packs (HIPs); evidence from the UK suggests that 87 per cent of property practitioners believe HIPs would succeed if implemented today due to their positive impact on the housing market and the increased consumer confidence they provided; - the Seller’s Legal Pack Bill aligns with these findings by frontloading the property sales process, similar to HIPs; this would reduce delays caused by back-and-forth communication between solicitors, prevent transactions from falling through due to expired loan offers, and eliminate speculative listings, by providing all necessary documentation upfront, as the Bill ensures transparency and certainty, thus building buyer confidence and encouraging more efficient property transactions; - there were concerns regarding the original Bill which were listed in the Report on Detailed Scrutiny of the Seller’s Legal Pack for Property Buyers Bill 2021; - the Law Society of Ireland made a submission on the Seller’s Legal Pack for Property Buyers Bill 2021 in 2024, and the IPAV also made a submission in the same year; - when a seller places their property on the market, this legislation would direct that a SLP is compiled and is advertised with the property; the SLP can then be sent to potential buyers, and it is expected the SLP would add no further cost to the general expenses associated with the sales process, as the fee would include all potential queries that might be raised by the vendor, purchaser and legal representatives throughout the conveyancing process; calls on the Government to: - address the issues outlined in the Report on Detailed Scrutiny of the Seller’s Legal Pack for Property Buyers Bill 2021; - address the concerns about the conveyancing raised by the IPAV and the Law Society of Ireland in their submissions; - liaise with the IPAV regarding how a new updated version of the Seller’s Legal Pack could be made possible; - bring forward an updated version of the Bill which will implement all the benefits of the original 2021 Bill within the lifetime of the Government; and - introduce a Bill or multiple Bills so that it is possible to avail of as many of the benefits of the SLP as possible, if it is not possible to address all of the issues outlined in the report and submissions.””