Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill today. I acknowledge the amount of work that has already been put into it in the Seanad. As someone from a rural constituency in the midlands, the issues and concerns regarding land and conveyancing can have a profound impact. I, and my constituents, want to see something that is fit for purpose, that does not have an adversarial starting point as a default and yet respects the rights of access. The Minister's Bill is welcome. We are keen for the comprehensive reform that was promised to be brought forward. I also agree with what previous contributors have said as it is of vital importance.

However, rights of way are crucial not only for access within our rural settings. Homeowners are unable to access their house either by foot or by car. Farmers need access for drainage and animal well-being purposes. The impact this has not only affects their daily lives but also their livelihoods. Following the enactment of that Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009, which has been spoken about, the position seems to have been that not only were very complex legal procedures required but an increase in cost came with those procedures. Deputy Mac Lochlainn mentioned an €80,000 bill earlier. That is not uncommon. That is something that comes up regularly. The entire process became so laden down with cost and box-ticking that, on many occasions, the ultimate outcome was that people were not able to engage with the process. Too many barriers were put in front of them. Particularly in areas like mine, these time-consuming and consistent deadlines that were involved pitted neighbour against neighbour and eroded the sense of community, because huge issues were being made of something that should have been quite easily rectified had there been a mechanism in place for people to engage in mediation and use the existing solutions that were in place before 2009.

We have raised concerns that the Bill does not fully restore the pre-2009 situation. We submitted amendments in the Seanad in an attempt to do so. It has been touched on briefly in terms of foreshore land. I understand that in some ways this is a technicality but it is very important to include it. The impact of not including it could mean we find ourselves again in this situation because we simply did not look forward with the view we should have taken. We do not want to be back here in another few years having the same conversation about where good intentions have failed due to a lack of foresight.

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