Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)

I thank the Leas Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak to this important legislation. I welcome the debate owing to our history and the connection of the people to the land. Evidence of the people's historic bond with the land is found in the lives of great statesmen like Michael Davitt who worked with the Land League. I pay tribute to the work he did on the land question over many years. I will try to follow his tradition in the House as it is something from which we can all learn. It is relevant to the current log-jam in the peace process, a way out of which is for the people to come together and adopt Michael Davitt's approach by co-operating through democratic and peaceful means.

It would be remiss of me in dealing with the Bill to fail to refer to land speculation and the price of housing. It is a scandal that young people cannot afford to buy houses owing to the price of land, especially in urban areas. The housing crisis, which is relevant to this debate, must be confronted. Approximately 100,000 people are on local authority housing waiting lists while others attempt to buy land and build within the communities in which they grew up. Despite many negative comments from some Members, I support such people strongly. To honour everybody's entitlement to buy or build on family land within their own locality where possible does not necessarily imply a cost to the environment. People in rural areas need our support.

We must consider the quality of planning in urban areas. We face the scandal of overdevelopment and a lack of planning, including in my constituency where blocks of apartments are built in areas in which housing has traditionally been two storeys high. I urge caution in planning and call on Ministers and those dealing with the land question to ensure we have quality in planning throughout the system.

Unlike many other Deputies, I have never walked away from the issue of ground rents. I regret that the issue has not been dealt with in this legislation given its direct connection with the land. I support the highly organised campaign by the National Association of Tenants Organisations and ACRA to abolish ground rents and urge the Government to introduce legislation to meet their demands. I commend and thank Mr. Tony O'Toole of ACRA for the work he has done on this matter.

The debate is broad. Ireland has a long history of dealing with landlordism which has blighted the country. Unfortunately, many of those exploiting people today are our own, home-based landlords. As one will see from a reading of the explanatory memorandum, the Land Commission was established in 1881 as a rent fixing body under the Land Law (Ireland) Act of the same year. It developed under subsequent legislation into a tenant purchase agency and assisted with the purchase by tenants of approximately 13.5 million acres. Ultimately, the commission embarked on a countrywide programme of land structural reform and became a great purchaser and distributor of land. Acquisition of land by the commission ceased in 1983 and the Irish Land Commission (Dissolution) Act 1992 came into operation on 31 March 1999. The property of the commission and the functions of the land commissioners were transferred to the Minister for Agriculture and Food. I pay tribute to the Land Commission, from the operations of which many people benefited, especially smaller farmers.

The Bill deals with land purchase and land reclamation annuities, the simplification of transfer of ownership and the amendment of various Land Acts to facilitate simpler, more efficient administration. The Bill proposes to discharge all land purchase annuities and land reclamation annuities amounting to €200 or less per annum, including arrears. This will allow farmers to clear their existing land annuities at a discount of 25% subject to all outstanding arrears being paid in full. The Bill empowers the Department to set off any payments due to be made by it to a person holding an annuity against any arrears of the annuity owed by that person to the Minister and-or the Department. An important aspect of the Bill is that it provides the Land Registry with the power to refuse to register a transfer of land or part of land subject to land purchase or land reclamation annuity where the annuity is in arrears. The Land Bill provides that the Minister may, at the request of the trustees, transfer former Land Commission trust property and effect change of ownership of these properties in the Land Registry office. This additional provision is to be made subject to the provisions which already apply to the power of the Minister to authorise disposal of trust property by the trustees. Provisions are also made to give legal authority to previous Government decisions to write off small land purchase or land reclamation annuities.

The term "land reclamation" reminds me of the attempt in my constituency over the last 15 years to reclaim land in Dublin Bay. As someone who has supported the efforts of Mr. Seán Dublin Bay Loftus to save the bay, I take the opportunity presented by this debate to discuss the matter. In October 1999, Dublin Port Company Limited applied to fill in 52 acres of Dublin Bay. The application was rejected in March 2000 after independent consultants found the environmental impact statement was inadequate. On 7 March 2002, Dublin Port Company Limited reapplied to fill in the same 52 acres. The independent consultant reported on the environmental impact study in September 2002 and the application remains current.

While an attempt continues to be made to build land development in Dublin Bay, every Member should support Mr. Loftus and the local committee of Dublin Bay Watch in their efforts to preserve it. I am very concerned by the lack of encouraging signs from the Department of the Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. If the Minister proceeds with the application, there will be serious trouble. We will need every help to defeat the attempt to fill in 52 acres of Dublin Bay. My objective is to protect and preserve what remains of the amenities of Dublin Bay. I commend Mr. Seán Dublin Bay Loftus, a former Member of this House, on his work in recent years, particularly on this issue. I also commend the group in which he is directly involved.

It is up to the Members of this House to present alternative proposals. Other ports need to be developed. One has only to travel to County Louth to see ports such as Dundalk and Drogheda which require development. This should be done rather than overcrowding Dublin Bay. The traffic congestion in Dublin docks always amazes me. One of the largest ports in Europe is in the city centre. We should act to ease the congestion there. It is important to debate this matter.

Another matter directly concerned with the acquisition of land in my constituency concerns the construction of the Dublin Port tunnel. Residents of Marino, Fairview, Santry and Drumcondra have suffered in recent years as a result of cracks in their houses and other damage to their homes. Currently, 178 houses in my constituency have been damaged as a result of construction work on the Dublin Port tunnel. For example, 125 houses have cracks, and a further 27 have hairline cracks. Seven houses have jammed doors and windows, one has a damaged roof and three have plumbing problems. A further three houses have developed major glazing problems while 12 other complaints have been received also. Overall, 178 houses in the Marino, Santry, Drumcondra and Santry areas have been hammered during the construction of the Dublin Port tunnel.

I was involved in the negotiations on this project with the city manager and the city engineer, Mr. Tim Brick. Before the project they informed me that there would be no damage to houses. When they bought the land under the houses, some of the offers they made to people were insulting. Some people in Marino were offered €500 or €600 for a piece of land under their houses. I know that some people received offers of €5,000 but it is appalling to offer elderly pensioners €500 or €600 for land under their homes.

I urge the Minister, the Dublin city manager and Dublin City Council to examine the idea of compensating families who have suffered trauma as a result of the tunnel's construction. We were informed that all houses would be repaired within a 30 metre zone of the tunnel, yet damage has occurred to some houses outside that zone.

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