Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)

In such circumstances, I found the legislation extremely interesting. It brought out the nerd in me. I spent much of this morning trying to find as many references as possible to Lucan in the Bill.

Will the Minister of State indicate whether the historical documents listed in the Bill are available to view on-line? If all of the documents are available, they should be placed on-line in the same way previous census results have been. The documents to which I refer detail Ireland's history when it was part of the United Kingdom.

As already stated, I searched the Bill for references to Lucan and I discovered a number of English private Acts which refer to Agmondisham Vesey, who is a key figure in the history of Lucan. For example, there is an Act from 1702 which relates to the estate of Agmondisham Vesey and his daughters, Ann and Henrietta, in Kildare and the sale thereof for payment of debts and empowering him to make leases. In addition there is an Act from 1711 which relates to the confirmation to Agmondisham Vesey and his children of the benefit intended by the Act of 1702 passed for their relief. There was obviously a difficulty with the 1702 Act.

I consulted a document relating to the history of Lucan which indicates that Vesey married Charlotte Sarsfield, the inheritor of the line of the Earls of Lucan. She married Agmondisham Vesey, the second son of the most reverend John Vesey, archbishop of Tuam, who went on to become a Member of Parliament for Tuam and perhaps also for Kildare. This relates to the aforementioned two Acts because Agmondisham Vesey married William Sarsfield's daughter, Charlotte. However, she died not long after the marriage, leaving him two little daughters from one of whom the present earls of Lucan descend.

The history of Lucan relates that "Agmondisham Vesey had long and troublesome negotiations with the Crown regarding his title to the Lucan property, which required for its settlement more than one Act of Parliament". Obviously, the aforementioned two Acts of Parliament reflect the trouble he had in settling his estate in favour of his two daughters, Ann and Henrietta, which is highly interesting. Moreover, his son, who shared the same first name, went on to design Lucan House, which is now the site of the Italian Embassy and is of course an example of great architecture in Lucan. It is very interesting to read such information and I hope this material is available for further examination. I was unable to find it on checking the Attorney General's website this morning and would be interested to learn the up-to-date position regarding this aspect of the documents.

In addition to its historical value, this legislation also is valuable because as the Minister of State, Deputy Pat Carey, has noted, it cleans up Irish legislation in terms of what Acts one must consult when trying to ascertain which law applies. Although Deputy Deasy questioned the value of the legislation, it is valuable because it reduces the amount of time that must be taken by everyone, including solicitors, barristers, legislators and judges, to establish what is the law. It is evident that tidying up the Statute Book helps in this regard and saves both time and money.

This leads me to comment briefly on the role of Members as legislators. People continually cite the need for Deputies and Senators to act as legislators, which of course is a highly valuable part of their work. Members should be doing more in this regard and should spend more of their time in the House as legislators. As both a Deputy and previously as a Senator, I have always considered that the most valuable contributions I have made in this House have been when dealing with legislation. That is the time when the Government sometimes takes on board amendments I have tabled or points I have raised. I bring to my role as legislator my experience as a local public elected representative. Being a legislator is not about acting as though one were in an ivory tower, it is about being a representative. As an elected representative, one empathises with one's constituents, talks to people on the ground, meets people in one's clinics and one then brings one's experience as a public representative to bear when considering legislation. One has a better idea as to how legislation will affect people in practice and what will be its consequences. This is what being a legislator is about and it is intrinsically tied to one's work as a local representative. I note that one of the two professors of politics in Trinity College published an article on this subject in The Sunday Times recently. While his first name is Michael, I cannot remember his surname.

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