Those who were in authority during the years of Bulgaria’s property boom have much to answer for in regard to the abuses that were allowed to happen.

At the time of those pre-crisis days, when there was substantial interest among UK and Irish buyers, those in authority were ineffectual in regulating the operations of real estate agents and lawyers who committed abuses of buyers – and perhaps, in some cases, of sellers too.

The aftermath of this neglect continues, with continuing discontent and in some cases even court actions by buyers who found that they had been misled. Shortcomings in the rules about operating in the market, along with inaction by law enforcement and other authorities to whom complaints were made, damaged the reputation of Bulgaria. Further, it is notable that there is a debate about the media reports that encouraged people to invest in Bulgaria, even though this is likely to be a vexed and probably fruitless debate.

In the current changed economic circumstances, it is unlikely that interest in the UK and Ireland in the Bulgarian property ever will return, at least on the scale seen previously. But now the new trend is for a significant growth in interest among buyers from Russia.

The question must be asked whether the way that the property market works has changed much, and whether there are legislative and regulatory mechanisms in place to prevent buyers from being misled and defrauded. If no such system has been put in place, and there is scant evidence that anything has been done, this is an issue that the Government must add to its agenda, to avert the risk of further damage.