Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank the Acting Chairman. My Adjournment matter is on missing persons. Last February I published a Private Members' Bill on the matter and I am anxious to proceed. The Bill follows on from the report of the Law Reform Commission that was published in January. The 160-page report clearly sets out very good proposals to deal with the issue and recommends making specific provisions in law to deal with two categories of missing person: first, where the circumstances of the disappearance indicate that death is virtually certain; and second, where the circumstances and length of the disappearance indicate that it is highly probable that the missing person has died and will not return - for example, if the disappearance occurred in dangerous circumstances. There are other circumstances in which loss of life may be presumed, such as a person going overboard while at sea, or there is a clear indication that a person has died.

I have approached the matter from a legal point of view. The problem is that nothing can be done with the estate of a missing person. The Law Reform Commission, and my Bill as published, recommended that we set up a structure to allow for an application to be made to the County Registrar or the Circuit Court for a presumption of death order. The order would allow for a management system to be put in place to manage the missing person's affairs. The Bill is detailed and sets out how the issue can be dealt with. It means we are keeping it within the courts system as regards setting up a proper procedure and one that is properly supervised.

At present people are in limbo. We had the recent sad case in Tipperary where a man who had been missing for two years was found in a slurry tank. In that case issues relating to the estate have had to stand still for a period. It is important that proper structures are put in place here as has been done in the UK and Northern Ireland, given that the Law Reform Commission has seriously researched the issue and has made definitive proposals as to how we should manage it within the legal system. As I have published a Private Members' Bill in this area, the homework is done and it is case of trying to move on it. I am concerned that when the Law Reform Commission publishes reports we have a tendency to put them on the shelf for a period. That was the reason I published the Bill in February and the reason I am raising the issue again. I am anxious that we move it on and that it is not parked for three or four years before dealing with it.