Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The law of the land, however, does not. It is completely silent on the definition of "community garden" in any legislation I can find. "Allotment" is well set out. "Community garden" is not. For that reason, I prepared a Private Members' Bill that sets out the definition of "community garden" and provides for a number of other measures, particularly around the obligations we could usefully place on local authorities with respect to community gardens.

I am grateful for the input of Dónal McCormack of Community Gardens Ireland and of Blessington Community Gardens, who is a constituent of the Chairman's. I also thank Justyna Traore of the Top of the City Community Garden in my city of Waterford.

This is a very simple definition. Nowhere else in legislation is there a working definition of "community garden", even though everybody in this room knows exactly what I am talking about. This provides the perfect opportunity to insert a definition where it will have relevance in terms of how a local authority might apply. There is always a concern about the wording of amendments. I reassure the Minister of State that I went consulted with the Parliamentary Counsel when preparing my Private Members' Bill, which has been through a full drafting process. This is a legal drafting. It was not written by me but by people who are expert in the drafting of parliamentary material. What is in the amendment is oven-ready. It is a useful definition that helps us to set into law something we already understand. I am not looking to place any other obligations on local authorities at this point. I am simply asking that we have a working definition of "community garden" in order that the law makes clear what everybody in this room understands.