Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms Helen Doyle, Mr. Noel Byrne, and Professor John Mee for coming in, for their detailed consideration of the legislation and for the written reports they have prepared in respect of it. I am not in any way proprietorial or sensitive about it. The most important thing is that if we are introducing legislation, we get it right. We will take on board everything that has been said here this morning. Certainly neither I nor any other member of the committee nor anybody else wants to introduce legislation that could have unintended consequences.

However, the principle behind the legislation stands. I am pleased to hear that Professor Mee thinks it is appropriate that we introduce the legislation. The benefit of legislation is that it prevents people from having to go to courts in the uncertainty about trying to establish trusts before courts of equity. The benefit of having statutes in place is that people can identity their rights and the processes and applications they have to bring forward. I am conscious of what Professor Mee said, however, that legislation can tie us up sometimes because something can be put into legislation that may have unintended consequences.

We will consider all the submissions, as we always do. I will not plough ahead with the legislation without hearing the views of the committee. We will produce a report. If we think it is more appropriate to amend it in significant ways, I have no difficulty in doing that. Alternatively, we can take on board many of the recommendations that have been made for the purpose of amending it. There is a need for legislation. We can have an interesting discussion about property rights, constructive trusts, joint tenancies and tenancies in common, but it is not unfair and not wrong for families to believe in circumstances such as the case of Noel's brother, the Cawley case or the Hawe case that persons have benefited as a result of wrongful acts. We need to introduce legislation to give effect to that. I thank everyone and the Chairman.