Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I would like to make a couple of brief points at this juncture. This room is united in expressing the hope that this legislation will enable qualifying property owners to proceed to buy out the freehold not just of the built structure but also of the land on which the property is built. This should have been the right and entitlement of property owners at all times. It is not to anyone's merit that ten decades after independence and the establishment of the State this matter had not been addressed before now. I think great credit is due to those who brought the energy to it on this occasion. From my earliest years as a Dáil Deputy, going back to the end of the 1990s, I continued to raise promised legislation in this area until it eventually fell off the table. Unfortunately, the political appetite to take it on did not exist.

It is important to give credit to those who have contributed to the introduction of this legislation, including Deputy O'Callaghan, whom I have mentioned. My constituency colleague, Senator Gallagher, was among those who introduced the Bill in the Seanad. The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and the current Government have facilitated the legislation coming before us. I appealed to the Minister earlier to sign off on the order. We do not know how long we are going to be here. I have indicated that a previous commitment in a previous Administration fell off the table. God forbid that this legislation will fall off the table. We need it to be expedited as quickly as possible. I thank the members of the committee, including Deputies Brophy and Pringle, for their support in pressing for this legislation to come before us for Committee Stage debate today. As a constituency colleague of the Minister from Cavan-Monaghan, I will certainly not prevent her from saying something after I have completed my responsibilities.