Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is a focus on Cavan and Monaghan, which is always good.

This Bill has received support from all sides of the House during its passage through Dáil Éireann and the Seanad, and I thank colleagues in both Houses for that support. As we know, the issue of ground rents in Carrickmacross has been long-running. It culminated in a Supreme Court judgment in 2012. That judgment had serious implications for local businesses on the west side of the town and their ability to buy out the freehold relating to their properties. I am delighted to see all the guests in the Gallery. I know they have made a huge effort in that every time the Bill has passed through another Stage, whether in the Dáil, in the Seanad or on Committee Stage, they have been present. I thank them for that.

Earlier this year, a Bill was introduced in the Seanad by my colleague, Senator Gallagher, to try to address this issue. The Bill was well intentioned and had cross-party support. However, it gave rise to a number of legal and constitutional issues. I will not go through them all again. I was concerned that it would be referred to the Law Reform Commission and could have been subject to a lengthy process there. This is why I met the Minister for Justice and Equality and asked that an expert group be established to advise the Government on this complex matter. I absolutely realise the urgency of this and, like the rest of my colleagues, wanted it dealt with as quickly as possible. The expert group comprised a number of legal experts, including Professor Wiley, who I know had been working very closely with solicitor Tony Donagher, who is also here today, and officials from the Department of Justice and Equality. They completed their work, which meant we would be able to make the necessary amendments to the Bill in order that it was legally sound.

In order to expedite the Bill, I have taken it through all Stages of the legislative process in both Houses of the Oireachtas. The Minister for Justice and Equality has a lot of important legislation in his Department. While I do not normally do the work of another Minister, I was delighted to make an exception in this case, and it is great to see the Bill pass today. It will be sent to the President for his signature and I hope it will be law before Christmas.

There has been much debate about the benefit of new politics in recent years. This is a prime example of what can be achieved when there is cross-party agreement on an issue and we can all work together on it. I acknowledge the work of Senator Gallagher and Deputy Ó Caoláin. We have worked together on this very closely and we wanted to progress it, as I said, as quickly as possible.

I also acknowledge the huge efforts of Pat Byrne, who produced a documentary to highlight this issue. I recognise the work of Michael Fisher in narrating the documentary and acknowledge the many local business people, some of whom are here today, who campaigned for this change. It is fair to say this shows the power of documentary. One could sit all day explaining this over and over, but seeing it visually is another matter. The documentary was really good and I think struck a chord with all of us - Senator Gallagher, Deputy Ó Caoláin and me. We all viewed the documentary. I pay tribute to those involved for taking the time to make the documentary. It was very well done. I offer a special thank you to Mr. Donagher, Mr. Byrne and Mr. Fisher because they impressed on us the urgency of the situation.I also thank the Minister for Justice and Equality and his officials, particularly Mr. Seamus Carroll, who prepared the complex narrative I read out earlier. It was complex and I was glad there were no questions on it.