Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Parlon, and his officials. I very much welcome what was said by the Minister of State and by my colleagues, Senators Cummins, Jim Walsh, Tuffy and Mansergh. This Bill amply demonstrates the great value of the Law Reform Commission. It is a most valuable State institution on which, I believe, we would all agree. In fact, we cannot give it enough credit. It has proved its worth time and again down the years. I believe we would all agree the commission's reports have been excellent.

This is a gargantuan achievement and represents law reform on a massive scale. By simplifying land law, it will reduce the duration and cost of conveyancing. We have all had practical experience of the difficulties with that. It was good to hear Senator Tuffy comment on that as a practitioner. It reflects great credit on an expert and active Law Reform Commission and on a genuinely modernising and reforming Minister, and I salute them both and everyone who advised them.

The next step is to move from a paper based system to an electronic one. This Bill, sweeping away as it does seven centuries of outdated feudal laws and simplifying what should be retained, clears the ground for this. Owing fealty to the Crown has no place in our constitutional, democratic Republic. It never had as far as most of us are concerned but certainly not since the adoption of our Constitution in 1937 or perhaps even the earlier one. If any area of law was in need of reform, the law of conveyancing and property was crying out for it. As my colleague SenatorCummins said, we very much welcome it.

The Minister has been a driving force behind this legislation since his time as Attorney General. I pay tribute to him for that. I also wish to pay tribute to the Law Reform Commission for all the work it has carried out on this important subject. The commission has successfully overseen a major programme of research and investigation into the law that is second to none. Its rate of delivery is sound and, in addition, the commission has produced discerning, considered and detailed reports in so many important areas of law requiring reform. Everything the commission has done is admirable and valuable not only to the Minister and his officials but also to both Houses of the Oireachtas. I salute the commission for its great work. As Senator Cummins said, we should ensure that recommendations by the Law Reform Commission are implemented more speedily in future. If we do so, we would be doing a great favour to society as a whole.

This Bill is, of necessity, a complex one and for lay people like ourselves it is extremely difficult to peruse. The Minister of State will understand our struggle in that regard as we have not had the Bill for too long. Everyone will welcome the ending of terms such as "fee simple", "fee farm grant" and "fee tail", which meant nothing to the general public. What is being repealed is part of our history and that is where it belongs. With respect, it has been properly dispatched.

The Bill thankfully redresses the situation whereby ownership of land will be absolute for the first time. References to the Crown and other meaningless feudal tenure titles will be gone. We all greatly welcome that measure which is overdue. What is necessary is being retained, which is acceptable.

Section 57 is worthy of note for the new protection it contains for purchasers. Given that there has been a degree of fraud and questionable practice from time to time, the section is an extremely important measure.

The Bill updates the law to accommodate modern conditions. We must take it on trust that it will greatly speed up matters but I believe it will achieve that. It will make the law more easily understood and accessible. In addition, it will simplify the procedures involved in the conveyancing process to reduce delays and associated costs. People have had to put up with seemingly needless searches for title in transactions but in this day and age people need to get on with matters. Once ownership is properly recorded and registered, and we have clarity and expediency, that should be it. I travel in hope because that is what we all believe the Bill will do.

The Bill's provisions will extend the registration of title system in the Land Registry and will facilitate the introduction of e-conveyancing as soon as possible, which is to be greatly welcomed. I would sound a word of caution on e-conveyancing, however, which will not be deliverable overnight, or even in the next year or two. While it will take some time, it is to be welcomed as a goal towards which we are heading.

Property transactions are major revenue earners for the State, so the more we can do to speed up the process the better. Having all land, maps and folios on the one system will be a big relief compared to dealing with registered and unregistered land as in the past. Some counties had different systems, which I was unsure of until I heard some of the earlier comments. In a small country such as ours, we should be much tidier in these matters and, please God, we will be so. In any dealings with which I was associated, I never understood all the bundles of frayed, musty and mouldy documents wrapped up in ribbons. Solicitors took time to deal with them, which would drive one crazy. I would almost say it would drive one to drink. People want to get on with the job and once they are satisfied about it, they do not want their solicitors putting obstacles in the way, although the process was so archaic that is what people often felt was happening.

There is a famous story told about two solicitors who had a problem because of a bundle of documents. One solicitor was allegedly acting on both sides. Given our litigious nature, he saw the matter was heading somewhere else. Therefore, he wrote a note for one client to bring to a pal who was a solicitor colleague in the same town. The note stated, "Look, there's one for me and there's one here for you to pluck as well". When the client discovered it they went to a pub and I will not tell the House what happened after that. Hopefully we will get away from such situations as a result of this legislation.

We all have friends in the legal profession and, as I understand it, in fairness, they also welcome the Bill. Although I think Senator Mansergh was hoping otherwise, I have no doubt it will still be a nice earner in some way for most of them.

Senator Mansergh made an important point in talking about the great social history involved in land records. We must of course ensure that they are not lost. I have no doubt that historians and others in our museums and other great institutions will take care in that respect.

The Bill is practical, clarifying, pragmatic and modernising. We fully endorse this measure and wish it well.