Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will raise two concerns and might table amendments on Report Stage. The first concern relates to the doctrine of lost modern grant, which is relied upon in the Bill. We are hearing concerns that it might not be sufficient to restore the law to the practice of the courts prior to the changes anticipated by sections 33 to 39 of the 2009 Act, which will be repealed by the Bill. In short, the Prescription Act 1832 may need to be revived. We may bring forward amendments reflecting necessary references to that and to any other relevant considerations.

We would welcome the views of the Minister on the rationale for not including reference to the Prescription Act 1832 in this Bill, particularly in section 2(b) and section 4, in addition to making adjustments to section 1. There is stuff on section 6 as well. We believe the 1832 Act was enacted to remedy difficulties that arose in the application of prescription at common law under the doctrines of use and lost modern grant. If this is correct, our concern is the repeal of the Prescription Act must be of concern to all conveyancing lawyers and not just those concerned with rights on the foreshore. I welcome the views of the Minister on the inclusion of references to the Prescription Act in the Bill.