Kevin Moran (Longford-Westmeath, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I intend to take amendments Nos. 3 and 4 together.

The Government is opposing these amendments. The intention behind the amendments is unclear and seems to be based on the desire that the Bill should have retrospective effect. Amendment No. 3 proposes the insertion of "any proceedings brought by a mortgagee, irrespective of when the mortgage was created". I consider the amendment unnecessary since it is clear from the current wording that the section applies to any and all proceedings brought by a mortgagee for possession of land to which section 2 applies. The amendment adds nothing. On the contrary, by departing from the existing words in section 2(2), it seems to suggest that the range of mortgages to which section 2A applies is somehow wider than the range to which section 2 applies. There is a danger that the amendment will create uncertainty in respect of the scope of the Bill. The wording is inconsistent with the wording of section 2(2) of the 2013 Act. Any revision in the manner suggested by the amendment could create confusion over the scope of the existing section 2(2) of the 2013 Act. This is the reason we are opposing the amendment.

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