Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of my Labour Party colleagues I thank Senator Boyhan for bringing this important Bill forward. I understand this is the fourth time that this Bill, or at least the concept contained within this Bill, has come before the House. I read back through some of the transcripts of those previous debates and, as other Senators have said, there is cross-party support for the concept within this Bill. However, the Oireachtas has failed on every occasion to progress it. As a House we need to look at ourselves and ask if we are determined to progress this legislation and tease through all the issues. Of course, no Bill that comes before the House will be perfect. The Bill needs to be tweaked, but it needs to be allowed to progress. I am struck that Ireland is, I am told, one of only seven EU member states without a national register of wills. A will is probably one of the most important documents in a person's life. We need to address how wills are alarmingly underregulated or underprovided for with regards to a register. We need to address that soon.

I have a concern about the Government amendment. I do not believe that we should be effectively kicking the can down the road. Of course, by the time we get to the proposed nine months, there will be further delays. There will be another additional number of months to try and put it through Committee Stage. I am reflecting on my own experience with the sick pay Bill, which went through the Dáil last September. That was 12 months ago. We were told then by the Government that we should wait for a delay on passing Second Stage for six months. Of course, we are now coming to the end of 2021 and we still do not have the sick pay Bill. That is one example by way of illustration. While I accept that the Government wants to engage, kicking the can down the road for nine months is simply not acceptable.

In the spirit of the Bill, I will go back to the point that a will is probably one of the most important documents in a person's life. It is also an important document to the life of a family of a person who has passed on. To provide certainty to a family at a time that is already difficult, it is important for them to know that a will is held within a centralised register. Like Senator Boyhan, I know of many stories of people who had to send an email around to various solicitors, to go through the Law Society of Ireland, to get them to email solicitors in a particular town or district to try and identify if their loved one has left a will. There is also the situation where there can be multiple wills. Of course, somebody can make a will at a young age and may make another will many years later. That inconsistency between wills can be a source of great distress and additional grief to families. There is a general agreement that this is a good idea, but we need to try and push this on. It is important in terms of public confidence in us as a House that we do not see the fall of the Government, the start of a new term, and the reintroduction of this Bill for a fifth time. I ask that we progress this Bill as soon as possible.