Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Before I speak about the provisions of the Bill, I am mindful of the plight of those whose loved ones have gone missing over the years. I think especially of the families of Deirdre Jacob and Trevor Deely in County Kildare, my home county, and the pain, heartbreak and emotional stress they go through every day. Every time we see a poster in a city or town here or abroad featuring photographs of people who are missing and pleas from families seeking information, we think of the hell the family is going through and how difficult it is to maintain some type of normal life. It is important that families who find themselves in this position have a legal opportunity to get certain affairs in order. That is where the Bill comes in.

Fianna Fáil will support the Bill, as we supported a similar Bill in the Seanad in 2013.

The Law Reform Commission has highlighted the need for legislation in this area and we certainly should act on that. I certainly support the Minister's comments in trying to bring this Bill into law before the end of the year.

The purpose of the Civil Law (Presumption of Death) Bill 2016 is to make specific provision in law where a person who is observed to be missing from his or her normal patterns of life, where those who are likely to have heard from a missing person are unaware of his or her whereabouts and where the circumstances of the person missing raise concerns for the person's safety and well-being. It puts in place a statutory framework providing for the making of a presumption of death order in respect of two categories of missing persons. The first is where the circumstances of the disappearance indicate death is virtually certain and the second is where both the circumstances and the length of the disappearance indicate it is highly probable that the missing person has died and will not return.

In 2013, the Law Reform Commission's report on Civil Law Aspects of Missing Persons made 19 recommendations for reform of the law. It also contained a draft civil law (missing persons) Bill to implement the recommendations, so the commission did really good work. In launching the report, the Law Reform Commission pointed out that between 7,000 and 8,000 people are reported missing every year in Ireland, or almost 20 every day, which is almost inconceivable. We know most people turn up within a very short period and less than 1% remain missing for a long time. In the recent years from 2014 to 2017, there was an increase to over 9,000 people per year being reported missing. According to the most recent figures from the Garda missing persons bureau, between 2003 and 2018, there were 125,698 missing person reports and of those, 431 people remain missing. This means 431 families are absolutely devastated, along with neighbours, extended families and communities.

In the context of the violence in Northern Ireland from the 1970s to the late 1990s, there is the inclusion of the "disappeared", a group of 17 people presumed to have been killed but where bodies have not been found. The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains established after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement has to date located ten bodies so seven of the disappeared remain missing. We certainly think of their families today. Against this background, in 2009 the Northern Ireland Assembly passed the Presumption of Death Act (Northern Ireland) 2009, which allows relatives to apply to court for a presumption of death order. The Law Reform Commission recommended that as far as possible, the law in this State should mirror the provisions of the 2009 Northern Ireland legislation so that any cases involving the disappeared that might be dealt with in the State could be based on a similar legal framework.

Our current law is primarily based on a long-established rule that there is a presumption that a missing person is alive for up to seven years, with a presumption of death applying after seven years. The current law is limited in that family members may apply to the High Court to have the estate of the missing person administered but this does not allow them to obtain a death certificate. In some cases, an inquest can be held involving a missing person and if it is almost certain a missing person has died, a coroner may make a declaration of death under the Coroners Act 1962, which allows the family to obtain a death certificate.

The commission's report recommends reform of the law on presumed death in particular to ensure families can deal as far as possible in the least expensive way with the emotional trauma of a loved one going missing. When a person goes missing, more often than not it is completely unexpected and affairs are not usually in order. Issues such as paying bills, access to bank accounts and renewing insurance fall to families, with many facing considerable difficulties as a result. We are all too aware of those who remain missing in communities across this country. The impact of these disappearances continues long beyond the initial occurrence. This Bill can form a small but important role in easing the burden on a family when a relative goes missing. On behalf of Fianna Fáil, I commend the Bill and we fully support it.

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