Tom Kitt (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

I thank SenatorsCummins and Moylan for being here today, as well as the Leas-Chathaoirleach. We are grateful for the support we received from this House during the many long debates on this legislation.

Senator Cummins referred to the Fairs Act. I, too, have fond memories of the fairs in places such as Mountbellew in east Galway. He is right in saying those events now seem long distant when we talk about them to the younger generation. It indicates how far we have come as a society. It has been an interesting exercise bringing this legislation through the House. We have finally got rid of Poynings' Law which we remember from our schooldays.

I thank Members involved in this debate for their detailed and insightful contributions. Debates of this nature are a timely reminder of the ongoing need to update our legislation. The Bill aims to consolidate, reform, simplify and modernise our laws, making them user-friendly. It is all part of a broader regulatory approach pursued by the Taoiseach in a determined way since the publication of the White Paper, Regulating Better, in January 2004.

The Bill is the greatest single statute law revision measure undertaken in the State. On enactment, it will repeal 3,226 statutes, far more than any other previous statute law revision measure. That figure is more than the entire number of general public Acts that have been enacted since Independence in 1922. Of the 1,364 Acts in Schedule 1 that will be retained by the Bill, it is the Government's intention to repeal them and where necessary re-enact them in more modern form. Some 10% of these Acts will be repealed on enactment of the land and conveyancing law reform Bill.

I acknowledge the work of the team of officials and legal researchers in the Office of the Attorney General which engaged in detailed and considerable research to identify those statutes for retention and those for repeal. That research involved the identification and assessment of over 60,000 Acts. It was a complex task to identify those Acts that still apply to Ireland and to ascertain whether they are suitable for repeal.