REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE ANNUAL DINNER OF THE IRISH AUCTIONEERS AND VALUERS INSTITUTE
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE ANNUAL DINNER OF THE IRISH AUCTIONEERS AND VALUERS INSTITUTE FRIDAY, 26th NOVEMBER, 1999
President of the Institute, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Tá áthas orm bheith anseo libh tráthnóna agus ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a chur in iúl dibh as an chaoin-chuireadh.
I want to begin by thanking your President, Wendy-Jane Catherwood, for her kind invitation to address you here tonight, and by congratulating the Institute for electing its first woman President and of course a woman with strong Northern connections.
It is well known that 1922 was a historic one for the country, the year in which the Irish State was founded. It is less well known that it was also in that year the Irish Auctioneers’ and Estate Agents’ Association, later to become the Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute, was formed. From some of the stories in circulation about auctioneering practices around that time, its foundation did not come a minute too soon. One story involved an auctioneer who gave a glass of brandy to all those who bid. The person who got the last glass of brandy from the bottle was declared the purchaser. Another involved selling by an inch of candle. During the bidding a small piece of candle was burned and the last bidder before the candle went out was declared the purchaser. Today’s house-hunters may take some comfort from the knowledge that the practices of years gone by were just as hard on the nerves as they are in modern times.
It seems, also, that exacting standards were expected from the Auctioneering profession. If it is to be believed, an Auctioneer should have the patience of Job. The strength of David. The wisdom of Solomon. The learning of a philosopher and the virtue of a saint. On the non-property side, he or she should be a Connoisseur of the Arts, should readily be able to distinguish a copy from an original and know the value of each. He or she should also be similarly adept in relation to furniture, china, glassware and any amount of other commodities. Yet despite all these saintly and scholarly attributes, auctioneers occupy a position in the hearts of the public somewhere between lawyers and politicians.
It is, of course, the property market which is the Auctioneer’s mainstay and the subject which has supplanted the weather in public discussion wherever two or more are gathered. The fact that Ireland enjoys one of the highest home-ownership ratios in the world is no mere accident. Historically, we have always as a nation had a strong connection with the land and with owning our own homes. That desire for ownership has always burned brightly within us and indeed anybody who doubts that the flame still burns today, as it did in times past, need look no further than at current newspaper supplements devoted entirely to property related matters, read avidly, sometimes despairingly, by thousands of people every week.
Many of these individuals have been affected by the chronic shortage of affordable housing, particularly, but not exclusively, in Dublin. You, more than anyone know the record prices that are being paid today for very modest houses which up to a few years ago would have been well within the compass of the average citizen. The current boom has meant good times for most members of the Institute, and in fairness, many of your members endured some lean times in the past. But it is a matter of deep concern that despite low interest rates and greater prosperity, houses in crucial areas are slipping beyond the reach of many people. These concerns need to be taken on board by all, for what matters to most people at the end of the day is how the impressive economic statistics or measures of national performance translate into their quality of life. A home they can call their own is a big slice of quality of life. Ensuring access to that basic thing must be part of our vision for the rapidly approaching 21st century.
In many ways of course, we have been victims of our own success. The developments we see today countrywide in the residential, office, retail and industrial markets have to a large degree been fuelled by our ever-growing economy and low mortgage rates. Strong levels of customer confidence and rising incomes have also contributed to the impetus behind what is happening today in the property market. But the human aspect of these developments, the dashed hopes of those who cannot gain a foothold in the market, must remain at the top of the housing agenda.
I know that the Institute has played a key role right through all of its seventy-seven years in shaping appropriate legislation affecting the property profession. On a broader front, it has also represented Ireland’s property sector on the international stage with great success and credit, most recently when it co-hosted the World Congress for the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) in Ireland.
We should not be tempted to blame the messenger – including members of this Institute - for the explosion in house prices. The remit of the Institute is to ensure that its members are in a position to provide a first rate, professional service to those who call on them. House or land purchase is probably the largest single transaction in which most individuals are involved and the Institute, to its credit, has sought to ensure that such transaction are carried out effectively and efficiently by qualified professionals.
I would like to warmly commend all those associated with the work of the Institute and I wish you every success under the able and unique stewardship of Wendy-Jane. Maybe like the nation, having tried one President you might be tempted to try another!!! I can strongly recommend the trend. I wish all of you every success in the future and renew my thanks for your invitation and for your work as a profession.
Go n-eirí go geal libh. Go raibh maith agaibh.