Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister to the House. We on this side of the House are broadly in favour of this Bill, although we may table some amendments on Committee Stage.

We welcome the Bill. Its nuts and bolts are probably taken from the 2010 Bill introduced by the then Minister Dermot Ahern, with some changes as the Minister has pointed out. It would be very disingenuous for somebody on this side of the House not to have almost full support for its provisions. There are several areas of importance.

The change in bankruptcy terms, from 12 years to five, is welcome. The former Minister, Dermot Ahern suggested the period should be six years. I am pleased that the Minister is reducing it to five years although it should be reduced to three. As a practising lawyer I have found it takes a certain period of time to be adjudged as bankrupt, up to two or three years. The 12-year rule is crazy but bankruptcy did not affect us over the past number of decades because of the affluent nature of our society. Thousands of people face bankruptcy, some not entirely through their own fault. We could start blaming the banks or whatever. In special exceptional circumstances I would favour a three-year rule rather than five. It would allow people after six or seven years, from the time they start to get into trouble with banks and are eventually adjudged bankrupt, to get off the blocks again with a clean start. The period of five years is too long. In reducing the period from 12 years to five, the Minister is taking a leap. This area of law has been ignored for a long time. Ireland is currently in the middle of an economic climate I had not envisaged in my lifetime. What the country is going through is akin to what my father, God be good to him, experienced living in America during the Wall Street crash in the late 1920s. Throughout Europe economies have collapsed and that is why I suggest the Minister consider reducing the period from five years to four or three years, which would be my preference.

Another important provision the Minister is introducing is the good Samaritan provision. I would like to know if there has been an attempt to define a "good Samaritan" and whether it can be successfully defined in law. The amendment is valid. I have been involved in a hillwalking club for many years called the Sheep's Head Way. It is a beautiful walk around Bantry Bay. If the Minister is ever there he could do the walk. It got rave reviews in the New York Times. A farmer acted as a volunteer to give a history of where they were going, a bit of a scríocht. There are registered ways marked by the State. A walk could take place on St. Stephen's Day and a volunteer may fall or become injured. The guide has nothing to do with it. Some adult walkers will wander from the paths are chosen. The paths are very well marked and there are stiles to get over fences, gates to be closed and so on. There was a threat of legal action against a farmer who offered to show people the route. There are also instances where people cleaned snow from footpaths and so on. This emerged last year in Dublin and other towns and cities because of the adverse weather conditions. Is there any way we can create a legal definition of a "good Samaritan"? We all know in our hearts what it is and what it should be but the legal definition is of interest to me.

I praise the Minister for his strong statement on the change to the intoxicating liquor legislation. He is correct in firing a warning shot over the Vintners Federation of Ireland. It has withdrawn its support for MEAS, which is a retrograde step. The Minister's statement will send a clear message to the federation. It is a powerful lobby group and it lobbied us when I was a Deputy and Senator. It has great ways of getting around us.

I recognise that we have a serious issue with alcohol in this country, probably more so than any other country in Europe. I am partial to a few drinks myself, but to say we do not recognise it would be rather silly. It applies more to the younger generation. When I was a college student I would have a couple of pints once a fortnight. We did not have the money to have more and the most one got in Cork city was a pint of Beamish or Murphy's. Other drinks were not available.

Now there are shots. I was a 21st birthday party recently where people were going round with trays of shots. I am sure if I had imbibed them all I would have been shot myself. As a society we have to seriously examine where we are going with alcohol, particularly vulnerable young people. Most people are drinking at 15, 16 or 17 years of age even though they should not be. We must have a responsible attitude and I welcome what the Minister said today. It was very appropriate and necessary.

There are several other changes in the Bill. I am interested in the registration by prescription of rights of way. As someone who practised law for many years I welcome the provision. I understand it refers to situations where there is consent between the parties. I ask the Minister to examine on Committee Stage a situation I became aware of as a politician rather than a solicitor.

A septic tank was in a field for 40 or 50 years. Its owner wanted to inspect and maintain it, etc. When it was installed, the contract was by word of mouth. The formal granting of the wayleave and the right to forever maintain the connecting pipes and so on has never been put in writing or if it was it was never registered. There is a vacuum. The owner of the house, land and septic tank is an elderly lady. The septic tank is an essential element of her property. She should be able to swear an affidavit, setting out the circumstances, the length of time the arrangement has been in place, the fact that it need to be registered and to allow for the right to enter the land, with the Land Registry. The tank is approximately 30 m inside the fence and the woman concerned should be able to have it cleaned and sort out the problem. It is a welcome move and I ask the Minister to broaden the provision to encompass the situation I outlined.

The kernel of my remarks to the Minister is that I have a deep concern that even though he is reducing the bankruptcy period from 12 years to five it is not enough in the current climate. In some circumstances, where a person finds himself or herself with his or her back to the wall financially, a fresh start could and should be made sooner in the current appalling economic circumstances. There are many such people in the country; not just the poorer classes but also the middle classes. I ask that the period be reduced to at least four years.