There has been widespread media coverage as a result of Deputy Catherine Murphy and I raising with the Taoiseach and the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the recent phenomenon of management companies in new housing estates and the fees demanded by them. Many media commentators have said they were not aware of this new form of rip-off. The words, "scam", "rip-off" and "stealth tax" were correctly and frequently used in recent days with regard to this issue.

The Minister is seeking information but I want two or three very clear statements from the Taoiseach this morning in regard to the policy aspect of the matter. Does he oppose the sneaky underhand privatisation by local authorities through the management company structure of services such as care of public open spaces, public liability insurance, maintenance of the water pipe network and other services, not inside apartment blocks but in housing estates, and the effective imposition of a new local tax on new young home buyers to finance this? In the Taoiseach's estate and in mine and probably in the estates of most Members, those services are provided from our general taxation through the local authorities.

Does the Taoiseach oppose the scam whereby house builders, having made obscene profits already, control the management companies for the first four and five years and drag the very people who made profits for them into the courts to force fees out of them to finance basic maintenance which they were obliged to do by law up until now and are still obliged to do? It is dishonest in the extreme to say people have a choice, as some local authority managers have attempted to say in justification. They do not have a choice any more than a starving person in a queue for food has a choice as to the conditions that will be imposed on him or her. Sharp practice is in operation when, for example, an 18-page contract is being shoved under people's noses when they come to sign for their houses to force them into a management company.

Yesterday. we had the reassuring image of the Minister of State, Deputy Callely, posing like Robert De Niro looming over the mean streets of Dublin assuring us he would help us to plan for Christmas. Admittedly, that was offset by the terrifying image of the Minister for Defence this morning at the controls of an Army helicopter.

A nuclear weapon.

Hands on.

Deputy Higgins should make sure the guns are not targeted at him.

If he directed the guns in the right places it might be okay. Tens of thousands of young home owners——

That is your second job. I thought you would resign after what they did to Liam Lawlor.

Deputy Higgins should be allowed to conclude.

The Deputy did not write about asking for the resignation of the editor of the Sunday——

You are losing ground.

Deputy Higgins should be allowed to speak without interruption.

Tens of thousands of new young home buyers saddled with large mortgages, child care costs and so on are now facing this new burden. They want the Government to move immediately to remove this monkey off their backs.

Hear, hear.

Deputy Higgins is aware the Government is dealing with this issue. I accept the points that were raised by him and Deputy Catherine Murphy yesterday. The answer to the Deputy's three questions is "Yes". Sorry, he only asked two questions so I cannot answer the third.

The comrades are in agreement.

Now there will be endless speculation as to what was the third question. Perhaps the Taoiseach should answer it anyway.

He cannot remember.

The third man.

Like the third socialist.

What the Taoiseach said is very interesting. The follow up must be that legislation would be introduced immediately to allow the voiding of the contracts into which people have been forced already so that the management companies can be dissolved and those services can then be provided by the local authorities. The Taoiseach has a personal listening post in the form of a media watch group paid for by the taxpayer. The day before yesterday, the "Liveline" programme was chock-a-block with revelations from all over the country about the extent of this new scam. Apparently, it could have gone on for another few hours such is the extent of it. I and Independent Deputies have made, and will continue to make, this a major issue. If it is not resolved quickly, it will be a major election issue in key areas. I will talk to other parties as well. I have constituents who will be in court in the next few weeks. They have been scandalously dragged there by the developers to pay these fees. I am glad the Taoiseach agrees with the point but what can he say concretely about stopping the practice instantly, dissolving the companies which exist and about the provision of those services from the general taxation which applies to most of us already?

As Deputy Joe Higgins knows, legislation in any area cannot be applied retrospectively and it would be wrong to give any comfort to people knowing that to be the case. In many areas, management companies which were originally set up to take care of and maintain complexes and to look after environmental issues, such as landscaping, cleaning, painting and so on, have extended their services to include those which in any other estate, whether in a public, private, corporation or council area, would normally be free. They have designed contracts to place total liability on tenants who, particularly some years ago when there was a supply and demand issue, signed these contracts. Tenants now find the costs are excessive and that they are arbitrarily increased annually. This places a huge burden on people. It is a fairly new phenomenon and it did not happen in the past. The Minister has stated he is examining the issue but it cannot be dealt with retrospectively.