David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House again. The arrival of this Bill in the Seanad marks the completion of an important job of work by the Office of the Attorney General. It took almost a decade to complete and I pay tribute to the office and its staff. What has been achieved is no mean feat and the Office of the Attorney General must be commended. I hope the Minister of State passes along the gratitude of all parties in the House. It is a remarkable and unique item of legislation and I do not envy those whose task it was to conclude that the Clanricardes Estates Act 1770 ought to be preserved but the Limerick and Ennis Railway Act 1870 ought not. These are the choices they had to make.

Legal certainty is essential; it is a cornerstone of the law. Perhaps one of the most well-known passages from a legal text is Lon Fuller's allegory of King Rex, contained in The Morality of the Law, in which the hapless fictional monarch attempts takes it upon himself to improve the law of the land. The Minister of State might like the story. One of the ways in which he fails is because his subjects cannot keep the law as they are not aware of what they are required to do under it, as the law has not been published or promulgated. Another problem is that the law is unreadable, excessively complex and obscure. He illustrates what he considers certain routes of failure for any legal system. A lack of certainty and clarity on the law is one such route and the purpose of this Bill is to bring clarity and make it easier for us all. Clarifying of the Statute Book is helpful and adds to the clarity of property law and land law in particular.

However, I wish to raise some concern about the manner in which the project was carried out and the apparent dearth of resources in the Office of the Attorney General. It is alarming that the statute law revision project would not have been completed were it not for the retention of interns from the work placement programme and JobBridge national internship scheme. The Attorney General is perfectly entitled, and ought be encouraged, to give young graduates a valuable opportunity to gain experience in such a key project, notwithstanding my very clear concerns about the manner in which the JobBridge programme operates. However, as legislators it would be reckless of us not to question the decision of the Executive to pare back resources in the Office of the Attorney General. Responsibility for this dates to the previous Government. A project such as this should not rely almost entirely on graduates.

The regulatory impact analysis of the Statute Law Revision Bill of 2009 correctly acknowledged the impact of not proceeding with the project. The lack of a coherent list of all statutes in force in the State would have financial implications for the public purse. Time is money and, in the absence of a complete revision of old obsolete legislation, time continues to be wasted researching and sifting through the potential impact of such Acts. This would also be an unnecessary cost for the legal fraternity and associated service providers. The regulatory impact analysis warned that the lack of a coherent Statute Book could affect foreign inward investment if the regulatory impact is difficult to comprehend or ascertain. In addition, the benefit of the Exchequer funds already invested in the initial phases of the statute law revision project would not be achieved if the project was not completed. This would not reflect well on the State's commitment to regulatory reform. We are all conscious of this because of the failure of regulation over the past number of years. Once begun, it would have been extremely foolish and wasteful not to complete the programme. Completion of the project will have positive implications for quality regulation, employment, industry and small business in that the proposals will assist in reducing the regulatory burden for users of the Statute Book, including business users, and will provide legal certainty. It will be an improvement for ordinary citizens who come in to contact with the law.

This was quite clearly the view of the regulatory impact analysis also. Completion of the statute law revision programme would simplify the Statute Book and reduce legal and business transaction costs. In 2010 the project stalled due to Government cuts to the budget of the Office of the Attorney General. By the end of 2010 the Attorney General, in an effort to complete the project in the face of increasing cuts to resources and staff, decided to recommence the project on a greatly reduced cost achieved using the JobBridge national internship scheme.

This is an important project and I commend those involved. I commend the Minister of State on introducing the Bill. It is possibly one of the most comprehensive Bills even though some people question whether it is important. The need for proper regulation and a clear understanding of the law means it is worthwhile work.