Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Pádraig, P. J. and Aidan to the House, as well as the former Ceann Comhairle, Dr. Rory O'Hanlon, and Deputy Niamh Smyth. The O'Gorman family have really been committed to making good the law as it relates to ground rents.

Ground rent is still paid in parts of the country and we are very familiar with the Marquess of Ely's estate, Lord Lucan's estate and the estate we are discussing, the Shirley estate. It is a payment for the ground on which a property is built. Generally, the freehold titles in Ireland tend to be owned by local authorities, but in certain areas around the country we have these miscellaneous estates left over from before independence.

The Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) Act 1978 gives a lessee a general right to acquire a fee simple interest. This is an important right for many reasons. Lending institutions, for example, will not give loans on a leasehold property that has fewer than 70 years left to run. In other words, a leasehold title with fewer than 70 years left is not considered good marketable title. House owners eliminate this as a problem generally by acquiring the freehold. It is very easy to do this with local authorities, but it is much more difficult when one comes across more difficult landlords that own the reversionary interests. Uncertainty has followed the Supreme Court case highlighted by my colleague, and this gives rise to the need for the amendments contained in this Bill. The Supreme Court decision has been widely criticised by both academics and legal practitioners. Mr. Wylie, the leading expert on land law has described the decision as "odd" and "surprising". Nonetheless, the position needs to be rectified and that needs to be done through amending legislation, which is before the House today.

In 2012, the Supreme Court interpreted two sections of the Act in such a manner as to hamper severely the ability of leaseholders, such as the O'Gormans in the Gallery today, to secure the compulsory sale of the fee simple. The interpretations related to what buildings were involved and what constituted a predecessor in title. The two amendments provided for in the Bill specifically address these two matters. The amendments sought in this Bill will confirm the original intention of the Oireachtas, which was to confer rights on tenants who had long occupation of premises and who had developed those premises at their own expense. The Supreme Court decision has created great uncertainty, particularly for business owners who are reluctant to invest in their premises as it is unclear whether they would be successful in an application to acquire compulsorily the fee simple in the premises.