Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Táim sásta go bhfuil an seal agam cúpla focal a rá le linn na díospóireachta seo anocht. The Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009 provided for fundamental reform and modernisation of land law and conveyancing law in this State. At the time, the measures were broadly welcomed. The 2009 Act was a combination of years of work by the LRC and the Department of Justice, Equality and Reform. It repealed many old statutes, some of them as has been said from the Middle Ages. An area the Act sought to reform was the law relating to easements and rights of way. Unfortunately, the Act did not achieve that objective. This amending legislation means that easements such as a right of way and rights to maintain water and sewage pipes on neighbouring land will no longer have to be registered with the PRA by 30 November this year.

Rights of way are crucial for people to access, especially, although not exclusively, as has been said, in a country setting. They can often allow access for homeowners to a home by foot or car while for farmers, they can affect access, drainage and many other issues related to farming. Following the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform (Amendment) Act 2019, as amended by the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011 ,approval by neighbouring landowners is required. In some cases, complex legal procedures must be undertaken to establish proper rights of way. The new legislation has also given rise to issues with mortgages where banks ask for proof of access rights that are often onerous for property owners to obtain. This legislation mandated that these easements need to be registered in the PRA or else by Circuit Court application. This is time-consuming. Sinn Féin called for the deadline to be extended due to the legal and practical complexities involved in registering rights and indeed the Covid-19 pandemic, which all have given rise to great difficulties for many people. Otherwise many homeowners would have risked not having the proper access to their homes, which has the potential to flood the courts with cases. The Minister eventually responded by extending the deadline through the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Bill 2021 and promising a review and new legislation for the area.

The Law Society was critical of the change required by the 2009 Act, although it largely supports the legislation. This was because previously a statutory declaration by the user of the right of way was permissible, which essentially states that the issue is many paths and laneways are in fact, as has been said, on private land and frequently owned by a third party. This particularly impacted on farmers looking to sell farms where access routes were in fact on third-party land. Court proceedings and agreement to grant rights of way often pit neighbour against neighbour and, indeed, can be hard to establish due to infirmity or estrangement. Sinn Féin wishes to see a tailor-made system that is non-adversarial and respects rights of access. Any new enabling legislation will be welcome but Sinn Féin is keen for more comprehensive reform, which has been promised, to be brought forward. I flag that at this early stage and look forward to working with the Minister of State, departmental officials and colleagues across the House because as Members have acknowledged thus far, and I am sure will after me, while appreciating this is a very complex situation and has been given a very complex response, it is one we need to resolve for the benefit of people out there, if you will pardon the pun, on the ground.