Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 3, between lines 12 and 13, to insert the following:

“Amendment of section 3 of Act of 1978

2.Section 3 of the Act of 1978 is amended by the insertion of the following definition after the definition of “the Act of 1967”: “ ‘the Act of 2001’ means the Valuation Act 2001 ;”.”.

The amendment will insert a definition of the Valuation Act 2001 in section 3 of the 1978 (No. 2) Act, while amendment No. 4 contains several important changes to section 10 of the 1978 (No. 2) Act. The first change is a technical amendment to condition 1, while the second is the substitution of a new text for condition 2, which incorporates a number of elements. The first element is the inclusion of a definition of rateable valuation by reference to certificates issued by the Commissioner of Valuation under section 67 and the new section 67A of the Valuation Act 2001. The second element addresses another important matter arising from the Supreme Court ruling, which relates to the definition of predecessors in title. The expert group agrees that clarification on the point is required and the revised text incorporates a definition of predecessors in title that is broadly in line with the proposal contained in the Bill. The third change to section 10 is a technical adjustment to the reference to a rateable valuation in condition 5A. The Office of the Attorney General has advised that the amendments to condition 2 of section 10 will apply to notices of intention and applications made to acquire freehold title after the date of publication of the amendments, namely, 5 November 2015.

Amendment No. 5 will make a similar provision in respect of section 15 of the 1978 (No. 2) Act, which deals with the rights of yearly tenants.

Amendment No. 6 will insert two new sections, sections 67A and 67B, in the Valuation Act 2001. Both sections will provide an essential mechanism whereby the Commissioner of Valuation may issue valuations that are in effect rateable valuations referred to in the 1978 Act. Such valuations existed before the roll-out of the new valuation system under the Valuation Acts 2001 to 2015, inclusive. The amendments are necessary to provide the required proofs to ground rent tenants seeking to exercise their right under the 1978 Act. Section 67A deals with property rateable under the 2001 Act, that is, where it does not fall under Schedule 4. It will allow the commissioner to have such property valued for the purposes of condition 2 of section 10 and section 15(1)(d)(i) of the 1978 (No. 2) Act, by reference to the date on which the application to acquire the freehold title is made. Section 67B deals with the valuation of property for the purpose of condition 5 of section 10, which refers to the rent being less than the rateable valuation of the property on the date on which the lease was granted, following the expiration or surrender of a previous lease.

This allows the commissioner to issue a certified copy extract from a valuation list in existence by reference to the date on which the new lease was granted stating the rateable valuation of the property.

I apologise to members for the length of my intervention on these amendments but it is necessary to provide as much clarity as possible on the changes being made for the benefit of the committee and practitioners.