Kieran Phelan (Fianna Fail)

I welcome our new Minister to the House and wish her well. She did a fantastic job in her previous portfolio and no doubt she will do an excellent job in this one also.

I am delighted to be able to support this welcome legislation. The provisions of the Land Bill 2004 will simplify matters regarding ownership. A significant number of previous Land Acts are outdated and complicated. The changes laid out in the Bill will tidy up much of the existing legislation. The Bill deals with a number of key issues, including the purchase of land, land reclamation annuities, the simplification of the transfer of land ownership and amendments to the various Land Acts.

The Land Commission, which was originally set up in 1881, has played an important role in Irish history and the life of families in every townland and parish. We all remember the stories of family, friends and neighbours who benefited from the distribution of land, both before independence and since. Fianna Fáil can be proud of the role played by its predecessors who helped to put the small farmer on a more secure footing.