SENATOR SHANE ROSS continues to be a thorn in the side of the stressed-out auctioneers.

The columnist announced a couple of years back that he was setting up his own auctioneering company just to illustrate how easy it was to pick up a license.

Now the time has come to renew it, and he has duly put an advertisement in the papers under the name Sean de Rossa notifying of his intention to take out the license. It's not a great time to be setting up in business, but no doubt the aim is to show that just about anyone can sell a house.

Local auctioneers are not amused!