Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The amendments in my name concern the issue of judicial review. That is a mechanism to have public oversight. It is a question of judicial oversight but it is usually a member of the public or an organisation that is concerned with an action that requires some type of oversight. We welcome the fact that changes have been made but I do not believe they go far enough. In fact, in some cases there is a further restriction on the availability of the recourse in question if decisions have been taken by a Minister. I am not referring to the Minister of State present because I am aware of the interest he has in heritage, but I know of Ministers who served here who did not have the same interest and who in many ways did not have the same concern with the actions they were authorising.

We are all far too well aware of the destruction of several of our historical and archeological sites. I appeal to the Minister of State to move away from trying to restrict the availability of this recourse and the overconcentration of the decision making in the power of the Minister. We will come to other areas where greater oversight is needed, even in this House, of ministerial decisions, on this subject or those being taken elsewhere. That is one of the reasons we have the format of the conventions being adopted or at least referred to in this legislation.

Amendment No. 111 was also proposed in the Seanad. It proposes to remove the subsection that prohibits the questioning of the validity of the act done by the Minister or the relevant licence granted, other than by judicial review. Perhaps in society we rush too quickly to judicial review, but that is usually because there is no other mechanism. A lot of money is spent in the four gold mines, as Phoenixcalls them, that should not have to be spent there if there were appropriate and effective mechanisms for oversight of decisions. The Minister of State is correct that we need to have quick decisions. Whether on the subject of historical or archeological digs or otherwise, we do not want them to be held up in courts forever. Otherwise we will end up with cases like that of the Iveagh Market in Francis Street - which, in fairness, the Minister of State stood in, in recent weeks - which has been held up in courts for God knows how long and potentially could still be. At least Dublin City Council and the original owners have stood up to try to protect a gem. We should not have to go down that road. It might be delayed further, depending on the actions of those who believe they own the site. We have all seen cases end up in court and court cases drag on and on. Thankfully, judicial review is usually a fast-track way of dealing with something that could be delayed in court. However, in this Bill the Government has imposed quite a restrictive limit on the time within which a judicial review needs to be brought. It will be interesting to see whether the restriction stands the test of time. I know we are on Report Stage, but I ask that further consideration be given to whether this is the most appropriate mechanism to deal with this issue.

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