Undervalued assets, tricky disposal rules, poor global sentiment; the real-estate investment trust (reit) regime, which promised so much when it first came into play back in 2013, is no longer seen as fit for purpose by some industry players, with all but one reit no longer listed on the Iseq index.

“It’s not working the way that it would be nice to be working,” says Paul Moroney, a tax partner with PwC.

But, while industry sees issues with the regime rules in Ireland, it’s not the only problem. Globally, reits have struggled. Some say it’s time for a change, but what are the issues? And does it really matter if Irish reits fade into obscurity?

Reits are companies that own or operate income-generating property and allow investors to get exposure to these properties. They can specialise in residential property, commercial, retail, offices or a mix of the various categories.

They were first introduced to Ireland in the Finance Act 2013 as a tool to help attract new investment into the property market in the wake of the financial crisis by removing the double layer of taxation that would otherwise apply on investing in property via a corporate vehicle.

A globally recognised vehicle, understood by investors worldwide, it was seen as a practical way of getting international capital into the Irish property market.

As the Europea