Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I thank the staff for the work they have done on this matter.

I counted 40 Acts, passed between 1922 and 1924, to be repealed. This indicates the dedication and commitment of the people who worked in the brand new Civil Service and State who were starting from scratch. There were also many more Acts passed in that short time which are still in place. This gives an idea of the dedication and commitment of those in establishing the State and ensuring there was a transition. There was a Civil War with horrendous atrocities. When it was over, people settled down to dealing with the issues which affected them every day and making sure the proper structures were set up. Acts such as Valuation (Postponement of Revision) Act 1923, the League of Nations (Guarantee) Act 1923 and the County Courts (Amendment) Act 1923 set up the structures for dealing with the whole civil and criminal process. The Beet Sugar (Subsidy) Act 1925 shows the development of State enterprise. It is important we give recognition to those involved in the founding of the State who ensured it progressed and developed.

The Minister of State referred to an error made in the 2007 Statute Law Revision Act regarding a voluntary society from 1792. The only concern I have is that if there were ground rents acquired during that period and the association in question was the owner of property.I am just wondering if the legislation is adequate in covering decisions that might have been taken since 2007 or if we could end up with further litigation in that area.

I remember being in the High Court and subsequently in the Supreme Court in the 1980s in connection with an annulment case and relying on laws dating from the 1800s. Likewise, when I was national chairperson of the youth section of Fine Gael, we started a campaign to abolish the status of illegitimacy. At the time, a child born outside of marriage was illegitimate and had no right to his or her father's estate. Our campaign relied on legislation dating back to 1800s. We started the campaign in 1980 but it took us seven years to get a change in the law in that area. Thankfully we have moved on from the slow pace of change, particularly in areas where there is total inequality. In terms of inequality in legislation, one can take the example of women being prohibited from sitting on juries. That had to be taken to the courts to be challenged. At least when a Department or a Minister identifies a defect in legislation, it is dealt with in a timely manner.

I welcome this Bill, which takes a large amount of legislation out of the system. It is also a recognition of times past when people put in the effort, both at Civil Service and political level, to develop the State and make sure that we had a safe and secure place in which people could live, work and grow up.