Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I did not get any indication from Senator Mulcahy on whether he would support the Bill but I think it deserves serious support. A judge of the High Court has not been able to decide a case satisfactorily because of an absence of legislation. The Oireachtas has failed to do its job. As Senator Mullen said, this is not a new proposition in law but a well-known issue. There is a name for it and Members can look up what these laws are called in other jurisdictions. They are common laws as this is not a unique situation.

Senator Mullen mentioned a Latin maxim and there is another, nullus commodum capere potest de injuria sua propria. These are ancient principles and it is a common issue over thousands of years. Whether in Roman, British and Irish law or American law, these issues have been dealt with and Senator Quinn is dealing with the specific issue, namely, the severance of a joint tenancy, following on from the mandate of a High Court judge. The particular judge is a well-known expert on conveyancing and property law. The Government does not control the Seanad and I believe we should pass the law, allow it to proceed to Committee Stage and do what Senator Quinn has done before to resolve an issue.

People will be at the wrong end of the situation in the future because this happened so often in the past and will happen again. We cannot be involved in a dereliction of duty. Senator Mulcahy speaks about the need to ensure domestic violence is a crime. There was a crime committed and someone was convicted of a crime in this case. That is not an issue at all. Conveyancing and succession law was not in place to deal with the matter satisfactorily. Senator Quinn has proposed legislation on this point, although I accept there may be other issues in regard to domestic violence. It is important to remember such issues but we are here to discuss one issue. This involves not allowing a person who has committed a wrong to benefit from the wrong.

My party will support the legislation as set out clearly by Senator Quinn. It does not warrant a huge amount of explanation but it demands a response. The High Court has asked us for that response because it cannot decide cases in its absence. It is not good enough to postpone it. Senator Mullen said the Government should have done this before now but Senator Quinn is doing what we, as Oireachtas Members, should be doing by filling the gaps in law. We should be listening to what the courts say to us every day of the week. Yesterday, a case took place relating to the misuse of drugs and was rectified. It is a similar situation, where the law has been found to be defective, although there was no constitutional aspect to this case.

It was regrettable to hear Senator Mulcahy talk about unconstitutionality although I did not catch the exact context. It is a phrase that should never be used because it has been abused so often in this House. Constitutional or legal issues are raised with every item of legislation put forward by the Opposition. That is wrong.