Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The relatively bland title of this legislation disguises the fact that the origins of and reasons for this Bill can be found in the rich and complicated history of this island and, in particular, in the history of Carrickmacross. I am conscious that the Minister and many of the people in the Public Gallery this evening are from Monaghan and know much more about Carrickmacross than I do. I thank Senator Gallagher, who is also in the Public Gallery, who did a huge amount of work on this Bill, bringing it through the Seanad. I also acknowledge my Dáil colleagues, Deputies Brendan Smith and Niamh Smyth, who have been very supportive. They all know a lot more about Monaghan than I do.

It is important to understand the origins of the Bill and why we are here this evening. To do that, we have to go back to 1576 when Queen Elizabeth granted the Barony of Farney to the Earl of Essex, when she wanted that land to be planted.

It stayed in the hands of the Earls of Essex until the 1640s or 1650s, at which point the third earl died intestate. His estate was subsequently divided among his co-heirs, one of whom was a man called Sir Robert Shirley. He met a bad fate. He backed the wrong side in the English Civil War, which is to say the royalist side, and was executed in the Tower of London. Obviously the royalists ultimately won out but he was unfortunate to be caught on the wrong side at the wrong time and lost his life. Ultimately, the Shirleys remained landlords of a very significant amount of land, which includes the town of Carrickmacross, for hundreds of years thereafter. They were absentee landlords for many years.

The reason we talk about the Shirley estate is that the Shirleys own the ground rent and the fee simple in respect of much of the property in Carrickmacross to this day. I first became aware of this issue shortly after I was elected to the Dáil in 2016. I got a call from Dr. Rory O'Hanlon, former Fianna Fáil Deputy for Cavan-Monaghan. He asked if he could bring a group of people from Carrickmacross to meet me. I could not understand why people from Carrickmacross wanted to meet me, but I soon became aware that the issue identified by the Minister in her speech here this evening was of great concern to this group.

The legislation from 1978 gave people an entitlement to buy out the ground rents. There is a significant advantage in doing so. The Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No. 2) Act 1978 gives a lessee a general right to acquire a fee simple interest. This is an important right for many reasons. Lending institutions, for instance, will not give loans on properties on which the leasehold has less than 70 years left to run. Houseowners eliminate this as a problem by buying out the freehold. There was a benefit and public interest to the 1978 legislation, which allowed people to buy out the freehold, and a reason it was introduced.

An acute problem arose, as the Minister has said, because of the decision of the Supreme Court in 2012 concerning the current holders of the fee simple and recipients of the ground rent, John and Lucy Shirley. They brought an appeal to the Supreme Court which was dismissed on the grounds that they did not have standing to take the case. It should be noted that it was found in the Supreme Court that the Shirleys were not disadvantaged by the correct interpretation of the disputed provisions of the 1978 Act and that they therefore had no locus standito challenge its constitutionally. However, in giving his judgment on behalf of the Supreme Court, Mr. Justice Fennelly gave a very wide interpretation of the disputed provision in section 10. We can all agree that this has had a significant influence and negative effect with regard to individuals' ability to purchase the fee simple as was intended under the 1978 legislation. If the interpretation presented by the Supreme Court continues to be followed, the owners of fee simple interest in properties will be allowed a greater opportunity to avoid the compulsory sale of such interest under the 1978 Act. It is recognised that there is a public interest in allowing people to buy out the freehold. That has now become much more difficult as a result of the decision of the Supreme Court in the Shirley case.

It is important to note the specific findings of the Supreme Court and how they have affected the rights of not only people in Carrickmacross, but many people throughout the country who may wish to avail of the 1978 legislation. The Supreme Court took the view that the tenant paying ground rent is ineligible to acquire the freehold unless all the buildings have been built by him or her and not by the landlord. That places a significant obstacle in the way of anyone who wishes to buy out the fee simple. The second thing the court determined was that the definition of predecessors in title should be interpreted widely to include works by all previous owners, that is to say, not only the landlord receiving ground rent but also any earlier tenants of the property in cases in which the landlord had taken possession of the property between tenancies.

As the Minister has stated, the overall effect of this ruling of the Supreme Court, which had two consequences, is to narrow the scope of individuals such as those in Carrickmacross to purchase out the ground rent. For that reason, efforts were made to put forward legislation. I played a small part in drafting a Bill and in bringing it into effect, but the real credit goes to the people in Carrickmacross and, in particular, to my colleague, Senator Gallagher, who brought this through the Seanad. Bringing it through the Seanad, with the support of many others, including Senators Ardagh and Swanick, was an important development.

I commend the Government on taking this legislation on board. It is appropriate that the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, moved it. The legislation has been catalysed by the experience of people in Carrickmacross but, as the Minister has rightly said, the issue goes beyond Carrickmacross. It applies not only to the persons of Carrickmacross but to anyone in the country who wishes to avail of the provisions of the 1978 Act.

It was a good decision of the Government to avail of the outstanding ability and services of Professor John Wylie. Anyone with even a fleeting understanding of Irish land law will know that he is a unique expert in this area. We can all gather a lot of confidence from the contribution Professor Wylie has made and will make to the drafting of this legislation. I note that the Minister has stated that it is the intention of Government to take on board the recommendations of the committee on which Professor Wylie sits and that it may be necessary to put forward amendments on Committee Stage. I will co-operate fully in respect of those amendments. We should try to get them through promptly and to get the Bill through Committee Stage and the Dáil so that it can be enacted as soon as possible.

The legislation reveals the complexity of Irish history and how lands were owned and granted as a result of conquests that took place hundreds of years ago. It also reveals how legislation was subsequently introduced for the public benefit to ensure that individuals who have long-term leasehold interests in property could buy out the freehold so that they could have the benefit and due desserts of being in that property for such a lengthy period of time. I commend this sign of new politics, although the reasons for it date from the 16th century. It is worthwhile to note that it has support from all sections of the House. We should try to get it enacted as soon as possible.I also welcome the introduction of this legislation on behalf of my colleagues, Deputies Niamh Smyth and Brendan Smith.

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