Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 7, lines 16 and 17, to delete all words from and including “and” in line 16 down to and including line 17 and substitute the following:

“to extend the circumstances within which a person may apply for an affordable dwelling purchase arrangement under the Affordable Housing Act 2021 and for that purpose to amend that Act; to provide for consultation with the Public Appointments Service prior to a declaration under the Local Government Act 2001 in relation to qualifications in respect of certain posts in the local government sector and for that purpose to further amend that Act; and to provide for matters connected therewith.”.

This group of amendments deals with two miscellaneous amendments and consequential amendments to the Long Title and the renaming of the Bill. Part 8 deals with two miscellaneous amendments, first to the Affordable Housing Act 2021 to provide for the expansion of the circumstances within which a person may apply for an affordable dwelling purchase arrangement, and second to the Local Government Act 2001 to provide consultation with the Public Appointments Service prior to making a declaration under the Local Government Act 2001 on qualifications in respect of certain posts in the local government sector.

I will go through the amendments. Amendment No. 1 is an amendment to the Long Title to ensure it reflects the contents of the Bill to include the fact that amendments will also be made to the Affordable Housing Act 2021 and the Local Government Act 2001.

Amendment No. 2 arises as a consequence of amending the Long Title. The Short Title will be amended to the Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023.

Amendment No. 3 is a consequential amendment to the collective citation for the Local Government Acts 1925 to 2023 arising from the new miscellaneous amendments to the Local Government Act 2001 in the Bill.

Amendment No. 18 is a minor rearrangement of sections of the Bill as a consequence of miscellaneous amendments to the Local Government Act 2001 contained in the new section 66. Amendment No. 18 removes paragraphs (e) to (g), inclusive, from section 20 and reinserts them in section 66 in order that certain amendments to the Local Government Act 2001 are all in one section.

Amendment Nos. 17, 36 to 70, inclusive, 91 to 96, inclusive, and 100 to 102, inclusive, substitute the "Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023" in all places "Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Act 2023" appears in the Bill. These are consequential amendments arising from amendment No. 2, which amends the Short Title.

Amendment No. 77 is the substantive amendment that inserts a new section 5 in the Bill that amends sections 10(3) and 10(5) of the Affordable Housing Act 2021. The new section 65(b)(i) restates much of the existing section 10(3) of the Affordable Housing Act 2021 while continuing to provide for a person to be eligible to apply for an affordable home under the local authority affordable purchase scheme if he or she has experienced a divorce or separation. The substitution amends the subsection by broadening the definition of fresh start to allow for an effective reset of the first-time buyer status after divorce or separation regardless of the previous property ownership status, thereby allowing applicants who are eligible by virtue of experiencing divorce or separation to have owned a home or homes previously once that home was their primary residence. The new section 65(b)(ii) restates much of the existing section 10(5) of the Affordable Housing Act 2021 while continuing to provide for a person to be eligible to apply for an affordable home under the local authority affordable purchase scheme if he or she has undergone bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings. The substitution amends the subsection by broadening the definition of fresh start to allow for the effective reset of the first-time buyer status after bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings regardless of the previous property ownership status, thereby allowing applicants who are eligible by virtue of experiencing bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings to have owned a home or homes previously once that home was their primary residence. These amendments will ensure that if such an event happens in a person's life, he or she is eligible for to apply for an affordable house under the local authority affordable purchase scheme. Amendment No. 77 further inserts section 65(a) to the Bill as a minor consequential amendment to section 1(2) of the Affordable Housing Act 2021 related to collective citation.

Amendment No. 77 is a substantive amendment that inserts a new section 66 to amend section 160(1)(b) of the Local Government Act 2001 to provide for the Minister to consult with Public Appointments Service prior to declaring qualification for certain posts in the local government sector. Substitution of "the Public Appointments Service" for "the Commission for Public Service Appointments" in a new subparagraph (b)(i) reflects the consultation practice that has been in operation by amending the party with whom the Minister needs to consult from "the Commission for Public Service Appointments" to "the Public Appointments Service". This amendment will ensure that the correct consultation procedure is laid down in section 160(1)(b) of the Local Government Act.

The amendment further provides for a new subparagraph 160(1)(b)(ii) to ensure that the validity of early declarations made under section 160 will not be held to be invalid by reason only of the fact that consultation with the Commission for Public Service Appointments did not take place. This is a necessary provision that arises from the fact that while consultation did take place with the Public Appointments Service prior to declaring these early qualifications, consultations with the Commission for Public Service Appointments did not happen.

Amendment No. 77 also inserts a new subparagraph 160(1)(b)(iii) in section 160(1)(b) to provide that the amendment-----

See this speech in context