Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am concerned when I hear dates mentioned. The Construction Contracts Bill is one of the Bills I introduced some years ago. It was enacted after three years but it has not yet been signed into law, so it is not performing as intended. It greatly concerns me when I see how long it takes to get something done or for something to occur.

On the other hand, I get the sense that there might be a change. The Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill was before the House this morning, which was within 24 hours of the challenge in the court. Hopefully we can move swiftly and get action on these matters. The Minister mentioned July. That is a date I can live with as it is just four months away.

It is a well established principle in law that a person should not be allowed to profit from his or her crime. My firmly held belief is that our succession, property and, indeed, pensions laws must reflect that principle. When considering a matter such as the one before us, we must put the victim at the centre of our consideration and not focus on the offender. We must not cower at the mention of the Constitution. The Constitution expressly says that property rights may be diluted in the exigencies of the common good.

Another Bill this House debated and passed was the Upward Only Rent (Clauses and Reviews) Bill. It has not yet become law and part of the reason is that the Attorney General has said she is worried about some aspects of it. The Attorney General appears to have influenced the Government regarding the Bill before the House today, and there have been many references to her views on it. I remind Members that under the Standing Orders of this House the Attorney General has a right of audience here. It would have been helpful if the Attorney General had come to the House today to elaborate on her position. She could also have done that with the Upward Only Rent (Clauses and Reviews) Bill. Those of us who proposed that Bill had been given strong opinions that the legislation was constitutional, but the Attorney General said she did not believe it was. The Attorney General has a right of audience in this House and I would like her to come here on occasions such as this to give her view.

The authors of the Constitution never intended that a person could kill another person and then reap the financial rewards as a result. While I recognise that this Bill pushes the boundaries, I do not accept that there are questions about the constitutionality of the proposals at its heart. For now, we can agree to differ on this point. I accept the Minister's bona fides when he indicates that the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, will move swiftly to legislate in this area once the Law Reform Commission completes its work. I can live with the July date. I am pleased to have had the opportunity to bring this important matter before the House and, hopefully, to have inspired the Government to move towards a solution to this problem perhaps sooner than might otherwise have been the case.

I found it a challenge to develop this Bill. It came about as a result of an article in The Irish Timesby Miriam Keane, who is in the Visitors Gallery. She is a lawyer in University College Dublin, UCD, and she advised me on the drafting of the Bill. In her article she drew attention to the anomaly and said she believed we can do something about it, as something should be done. We have heard from the Minister, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, and we heard today from the Minister of State, Deputy Nash. I thank the Minister of State and I particularly thank the officials, who also advised me on the Bill. They have taken a position on the Bill which I can live with until July. I do not have a very long finger, but it is one that can last for four months. However, that is as far as it will go. Hopefully, I will be able to say that before the recess in July we will have had the opportunity to debate this with the Law Reform Commission. I thank the Minister and suggest that we adjourn the debate on the Bill.