Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This Bill is mainly administrative but it contains a large number of minor changes. Some amendments will have positive impacts and the majority of them are very welcome. The delays in courts and the backlogs we have seen have become a serious concern. The ongoing review of the Judiciary and judicial system is reflected in the Bill.

The general consensus is that given that much of the law in this area dates back decades and, in some cases, centuries, parts of it need to be adjusted to the modern framework in which we work. That is clearly what this Bill is attempting to achieve, and it is welcome in that respect.

The Minister mentioned issues with bankruptcy law. We need to look into bankruptcy and the whole personal insolvency practitioner system. This will have greater relevance given the cost-of-living issues that have arisen. We all remember the crash of 2008-09 and the number of companies that went into bankruptcy and the number of people who fell into financial distress. The law at that time was not equipped properly to deal with that. There have been some changes since then but more are needed.

I am conscious of the international aspect of this and the promotional campaign under way in other common law countries to make Ireland a centre for international business. While there are opportunities for us in terms of the legal framework we have here, they will be hampered if we do not get all of this stuff right. It is important, therefore, that we work with the Minister to ensure that happens.

The Minister indicated she intends to introduce an amendment on Committee Stage in regard to Irish children born here of parents from outside the State who, under the current regulations, are not automatically entitled to citizenship. Something needs to be done about that and the amendment will be very welcome. We need to see this happen as quickly as possible. I am sure all Deputies in their constituencies, as well as Senators, will have come across people who were born, raised and went to school here and know only Ireland as their home, yet they are not Irish citizens. I find it very difficult to work that out. The process of naturalisation and the means of attaining citizenship must be sped up.

On the offence of obstructing a sheriff, I would like to tease that out a little and we probably will. It is one of the provisions that we require more detail on and the sooner we can get that, the better. Hopefully, we will discuss that in more detail on Report Stage.

In a number of evictions and repossessions, particularly of family homes, there have been issues with agents of banks, or whoever else, carrying out court-ordered evictions. Sometimes there have been very aggressive behaviour and unsavoury scenes in Dublin and other parts of the country, which have led to public outrage. We need to find a way of getting the law on that right, because the current law has flaws that are reflected in these serious situations.

The amendment to the Judicial Council Act is also welcomed. The independence of the Judiciary must be preserved, while at the same time issues of misconduct, or whatever one might call it, need to be addressed. There needs to be a mechanism to do that.

In general, the overall thrust of the Bill is welcome. There is too much in it. We could be here for hours if we were to go through it piece by piece. What we need to do is pass the Bill on Second Stage and try to work out on Committee Stage the areas on which we differ in focus or analysis. However, in general, the Bill is welcome and I hope we can move it along quickly. I hope we will work through the areas on which we may have differences of opinion or issues on which we want more clarity. We will work in co-operation to bring the Bill through the House.

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