Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I support Deputy Cian O'Callaghan's proposition. There is already a well-established mechanism for doing exactly what the Deputy is asking for under the derelict sites legislation. Where a local authority moves to compulsorily purchase a derelict site, it checks the land register to see if there is an address associated with it. It checks all its records to see if there is a verifiable means by which to contact the property owner directly. Where it cannot, the legislation permits it to place a notice on the property in question. If the owner of the property has not responded to the notice within the period of time set out in legislation, he or she is deemed to have been notified. On that basis, where there is no counterparty to negotiate the compulsory purchase order with, the State may proceed because, under the derelict sites legislation, it has been provided for that the compulsory purchase order, CPO, can proceed. A mechanism of that kind would be eminently suitable for the circumstances the Deputy and the Minister of State have been discussing. I urge the Minister of State to go back and look at it. I know it is a slow and cumbersome mechanism but I am beginning to think the Minister of State may have a greater problem if the sole way he hopes to notify an owner of land is through any form of media. We can have a conversation about that separately. A situation may arise in court where it is not actually up to the owner of the land to prove he or she has not been notified, but for the State or its actors to prove that the individual has been notified. Therefore, a combination of what Deputy Cian O'Callaghan is calling for and the mechanism under the derelict sites legislation would be very sensible.

Local authorities have a very similar mechanism in respect of local authority social housing tenancies. If the local authority believes that somebody has abandoned a social housing tenancy, there is provision under the Housing Acts for a notice to be attached to the door and, after a period of time, if the designated tenant has not responded to that notice, for that tenant to be deemed to have abandoned the property and for the State to step in and reclaim it. That would be worth looking at.

In respect of the media stuff, the definition of a national newspaper is "a newspaper published and circulating generally in the State". Nobody would seriously suggest that, every time a newspaper is chosen under that definition, there has to be some evidence attached somewhere in the administration to prove that the publication chosen was circulating generally in the State. It is just assumed that will be understood. In fact, there are publications that circulate generally in the State but which have a very low readership. I therefore think some bar should be set. If the Minister of State does not follow Deputy Cian O'Callaghan's advice and if this is his primary method of notifying not just the general public but the landowner, he would really want it to be a publication that has a high circulation. That speaks to the need to strengthen that definition but also to go beyond State-wide newspapers. There are certain parts of the country where not only are there no post offices and not only are the Garda stations very rarely open, but where the people, when going into the local newsagents, do not choose to read The Irish Times, the Irish Independentor the tabloids. They read a set of other publications. There is a real need to reconsider the amendments I am proposing.

Those of us who are Dublin Deputies are often lobbied by, for example, the Dublin Gazette, which, as the Minister of State will know, is a freesheet that circulates around Dublin. Like many freesheets and local newspapers, it employs a lot of people and promotes a lot of local news. During the Covid pandemic, those involved felt particularly aggrieved that they could not get access to any of the notification opportunities. In that case, the opportunities came from the HSE but they made the point that, in general, they do not get these opportunities from anyone because the assumption is that, if you use The Irish Times, the Irish Independentor the Irish Examiner, that will suffice. I would have thought that some measure of local media would have been included as part of a general Government policy, filtering down into each of the different Departments and agencies, to promote media diversity and local jobs while also ensuring the people you want to know about something know about it.

Will the Minister of State give some indication that he will go back and look at these two issues again? I accept there might be some problems with the wording. If he did so, I would be happy to consider withdrawing the amendments. However, I really must ask who decides which newspapers are in general circulation. What are the criteria? Where is the evidence that a given publication is the best publication for a particular notification? Again, I believe it is too broad and, on that basis, unless the Minister of State is willing to look seriously at these issues again, I will press the amendments.

That speaks to amendments Nos. 100 and 101 as well.