Michael Kitt (Fianna Fail)

I thank Senators for their support for this Bill. Statute law revision may not be the most eye-catching project but it is important work and I am gratified that Senators have given their time and interest to it. Their contributions to the debate as the Bill passed through all Stages demonstrate their belief that we are engaging in a vital endeavour, although there may be no one out there listening to us. If we are serious about having a modern democracy, we need to remove antiquated and obsolete laws which were not made by the Houses of the Oireachtas. I acknowledge the work done by my officials. Identifying those Acts that still apply to Ireland and ascertaining if they are suitable for repeal are complex tasks.

The work does not cease with this Bill, which is the first important step in a phased programme of measures. Once this Bill is enacted, the Taoiseach will bring a memorandum to Government for a second statute law revision Bill, which will take a different approach to that used in the Bill before us. The model for the new phase is that of a white list. This is a list of those statutes made before 1800 which are to be retained so we are taking a positive approach to the matter. It will be a positive statement of those laws which are to remain in force. All other laws from this period will then be repealed. This approach will build on the work we are carrying out today.

Repealing many more statutes will provide greater certainty. I will be depending on Senators' continued support for this next phase in 2006. There is a considerable amount of work to do to get to the point where our Statute Book is clear and up to date. Our system of statutory law should comply with the most elementary requirements of any system in that it should be possible to ascertain whether a particular statute is in force and, if so, what its general effect is without undue difficulty. The Bill before us today is the first significant step in that direction.