Seanad debates

Tuesday, 15 November 2016

Statute Law Revision Bill 2016: Second Stage

 

2:30 pm

Photo of Gerry HorkanGerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Statute Law Revision Bill 2016. Fianna Fáil will be supporting the Bill. It is part of a process to create a modern and streamlined Irish Statute Book which is more accessible to citizens and to businesses. The process of condensing the Irish Statute Book and making it more relevant and accessible was started in 2005 under a Fianna Fáil-led Government and it will clear away the dead wood of thousands of redundant and obsolete Acts that are clogging the Statute Book. The Statute Law Revision Acts 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2012 repealed many Acts enacted between 1751 and Irish Independence in 1922. Previous Acts in this regard have dealt with Acts enacted pre-1922 or pre-Independence. This Bill focuses on public general Acts enacted between 1922 and 1950. A total of 1,124 were reviewed and of those, 297 have been selected to be repealed. Many of the Acts are monotonous and ordinary, but some of them are interesting to note. Number 33, from 1924 is the Telephone Capital Act 1924, "an Act to grant further money for the development of the telephonic system of Saorstát Éireann". Number 7 from 1932 is the Eucharistic Congress (Miscellaneous Provisions ) Act 1932, "an Act to make certain modifications in the law for the purposes of the Eucharistic Congress to be held in the month of June 1932". Number 1, from 1937, is the Spanish Civil War (Non-intervention) Act 1937, "an Act to carry into execution the international obligations of Saorstát Éireann in relation to the civil war now being waged in Spain, and to make such provisions as are necessary or expedient for that purpose, and in particular to prohibit citizens of Saorstát Éireann from participating in that war". We can see there is quite a lot of legislation that is past its sell-by date at this stage.

When Ireland gained independence in 1922, it passed an Act to inherit all laws that had previously applied to the jurisdiction. This means that many ancient laws, including those passed in Westminster while Ireland was part of the UK, still apply today unless they have been repealed in some way. The continued presence of redundant legislation is misleading for the user who may believe that it is still relevant and in force by virtue of it simply remaining on the Statute Book. The user of the Statute Book may have to undertake the time-consuming task of carefully analysing a statute, only to come to the conclusion that it no longer applies.

As was noted in previous debates on the subject, it is not appropriate that laws from the pre-Independence era remain in force here indefinitely. The volume of old legislation is so great that the only way to approach the question of statute law revision is to proceed in stages. The Statute Law Revision Act 2012 repealed all statutes enacted before Irish Independence on the 6 December 1922, with the exception of statutes specified in Schedule 1 to the Act and to the Statute Law Revision Acts of 2007 and 2009. Previous phases of the statute law revision project reviewed public general Acts, local and personal Acts up to 1850 and private Acts up to 1750. This Act complements that process by repealing all local and personal Acts enacted after 1850 and before 6 December 1922 and all private Acts enacted after 1750 and before 6 December 1922, with the exception of a “white list” of Acts that are specifically preserved. The Act repealed an estimated 2,900 obsolete Acts enacted between 1751 and Irish Independence in 1922. The list of Bills covered is fascinating and represents a slice of Irish history in the pre-Independence era. Examples of the old laws that were repealed are private divorce Acts, designed to dissolve marriages in the days when there was no judicial divorce jurisdiction in Ireland. The Act also repealed obsolete statutes relating to conferring of citizenship on non-nationals, again dating back to a period where Ministers had no power to confer naturalisation and it had to be carried out by Parliament. The Act also specified around 790 pieces of old legislation which are still relevant and which are being specifically kept in force, including the Saint Stephen’s Green Act 1877, which formally opened Saint Stephen's Green to regulated public use, and which gives the Chief Secretary or Under Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant - now the Minister for Finance - the authority to issue bye-laws relating to its use.

As part of the current programme of statute law revision initiated in 2003 - under a previous Fianna Fáil Government - a total of almost 5,000 old Acts have already been eliminated. One similar previous law, passed in 2005, removed the 700 year obligation for every citizen of Ireland to own a bow and arrow, and to practice archery - but also withdrew the law which abolished pillory, the act of locking someone into stocks so that they could be pelted with tomatoes. The Adulteration of Tea Act was passed in 1776, two years after the Boston Tea Party which triggered the American revolution. When this Act was enacted, the total rose to nearly 8,000, which - together with an additional 40,557 Acts - are implicitly repealed by the legislation. Fianna Fáil will support this Bill as it proceeds through the House and I offer my commendations and recognition to the staff who have worked diligently in bringing the Bill to fruition.

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