Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, I am happy to have the opportunity to outline before the Seanad the Tailte Éireann Bill 2022. The purpose of the Bill is to provide for the merger of the Valuation Office, the Property Registration Authority, PRA, and Ordnance Survey Ireland, OSI, through the establishment of a new body to be called Tailte Éireann. Tailte Éireann will be a body corporate with perpetual succession and an official seal. It will be independent in the performance of its functions, and those functions will include all those currently undertaken by the Commissioner of Valuation, the Boundary Surveyor, the OSI and the PRA.

The Valuation Office is an independent Government office under the aegis of Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. It is staffed by civil servants and headed by the Commissioner of Valuation. The core business of the organisation is to provide ratepayers and local authorities with accurate up-to-date valuations of commercial and industrial properties. These valuations are integral to the commercial rating system in Ireland and form the basis for a very significant element of local government revenue each year. The Valuation Office also provides a valuation service to Departments and offices, State agencies and other public bodies, and carries out open market capital and rental valuations including valuations for rent reviews for these customers. It is the custodian of an archive of unique records which provide information and insights into the social history of Ireland, covering the period from the mid-1850s to early 1990s. These records provide an invaluable resource for genealogical and historical research.

Ordnance Survey Ireland's main public service function is to create and maintain the definitive mapping records of the State. The work of the OSI is essential to the infrastructural development of Ireland. There is a growing recognition among decision-makers that knowledge and understanding of location is a vital component in effective decision-making. The OSI has developed an industry-leading mapping framework. It enables consistent referencing and integration of data from other sources to a specific location. Knowing where things are and how they relate to each other allows for better analysis, drives efficiencies and encourages the optimum use of resources.

The Property Registration Authority is the State body with responsibility for the Land Registry and Registry of Deeds. Its mission is to safeguard property rights and transactions in Ireland. As custodians of the digital national land register, its function is to provide a system of registration of title to land which is accurate, reliable and readily accessible. The main functions of the PRA are to manage and control the Land Registry and the Registry of Deeds and to promote and extend the registration of ownership of land. It also operates the ground rents purchase scheme under the Landlord and Tenant Acts. These three organisations will merge to form Tailte Éireann.

Tailte Éireann will provide a comprehensive and secure property title registration system, an independent rateable valuation system and authoritative location information and geospatial infrastructure. These are central to the effective management of the property, planning, agriculture, local government, environmental and construction sectors of the State's economy. Tailte Éireann will provide streamlined access to the delivery of enhanced land and geospatial services to Government and other stakeholders and citizens. This will result in more co-ordinated strategic and business planning, evidence-based decision-making and innovative service delivery in line with Government policy. As one organisation, Tailte Éireann will facilitate the integration of data internally across its core functions and externally in partnership with other State organisations. Tailte Éireann will represent an entity more capable of contributing to and influencing policy formulation that supports social and economic development.

I will now elaborate on the provisions of the Bill. This is a relatively short Bill, comprising four Parts, 41 sections and two Schedules. Part 1, covering sections 1 to 5, inclusive, addresses preliminary and general matters. These include the Title, arrangements for bringing the Bill into operation and standard provisions. Part 2, which takes in sections 6 to 26, inclusive, will provide for the establishment of Tailte Éireann. This is the most substantive part and sets out the functions and organisational structure of the organisation, the appointment of a chief executive, the board, staff, preparation of a statement of strategy, annual reporting and other related matters.

The Bill provides that Tailte Éireann will be a body corporate with perpetual succession and an official seal authenticated by the chief executive and the board. It shall have the power to acquire, hold and dispose of land, and shall have the power to sue or be sued in its corporate name. The Bill sets out the general functions of Tailte Éireann, including all functions undertaken by the Commissioner of Valuation, the Chief Boundary Surveyor or a dissolved body, and provides for any such additional functions as conferred by the Minister. Tailte Éireann will be independent in the performance of its functions and the board will be strategic in nature.

Sections 11 to 19, inclusive, set out the provisions for the functions and appointment of a chief executive of Tailte Éireann, and provide for the appointment by the chief executive of such number of persons to be the staff of Tailte Éireann, subject to the approval of the Minister and the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. A competition for the appointment of the first chief executive of Tailte Éireann is open for applications until 8 December through the Public Appointments Service.

The Bill provides that Tailte Éireann may engage consultants or advisers to assist in the performance of its functions and pay their fees. It provides for the disclosure of any beneficial interest by a board member or a committee connected to the board. That interest and its nature must be disclosed to the board for its consideration and to determine the appropriate action to be taken on the matter.

The Bill provides for the preparation of the first strategy statement, the annual report and any other report the Minister may consider appropriate on any particular matter relating to the functions of Tailte Éireann. The Bill provides that a member of the board or a committee of the board, an empowered person, or any adviser or consultant or their staff shall not, unless under exceptional circumstances, disclose confidential information obtained by him or her while performing his or her functions. It provides that the Minister, having consulted the chief executive and with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, may specify by order the fees payable to Tailte Éireann in respect of the performance of its functions. Part 2 of the Bill concludes with section 26, which provides that expenses incurred by Tailte Éireann in the performance of its functions shall be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

Part 3 contains three chapters and takes in sections 27 to 38, inclusive. It provides for the dissolution of bodies and the transfer of functions, legislative references, land, property rights, liabilities, staff, records, and other related matters to Tailte Éireann. Chapter 1 provides for the dissolution of the PRA and OSI on the establishment day of Tailte Éireann. The Bill provides that all functions that were vested in the dissolved bodies, the Commissioner of Valuation and the Boundary Surveyor are transferred to Tailte Éireann on the establishment day and direct that on and after the establishment day references in any enactment other than this Act, or any instrument made under such an enactment to either a dissolved body, the Commissioner of Valuation or the Boundary Surveyor, will be construed as references to Tailte Éireann.

On establishment day lands and other property that were vested in the dissolved bodies, the Commissioner of Valuation or the Boundary Surveyor and all rights, powers and privileges relating to or connected with such lands shall, without any conveyance or assignment, stand vested in Tailte Éireann.

The Bill provides for the transfer to Tailte Éireann of rights and liabilities, and the continuation of leases, licences and permissions granted by a dissolved body, the Commissioner of Valuation or the Boundary Surveyor, and that all liability for loss occurring before establishment day and any legal proceedings pending immediately before the establishment day by a dissolved body, the Commissioner of Valuation or the Boundary Surveyor shall lie against Tailte Éireann. The Bill provides various provisions consequent upon conferral of functions on or transfer of assets and liabilities to Tailte Éireann, and that where an application made to a dissolved body, the Commissioner of Valuation or the Boundary Surveyor before the establishment day, shall, where the application was not determined before the establishment day, be treated as an application made to Tailte Éireann.

Chapter 2 provides for the transfer of staff and their terms and conditions of employment to Tailte Éireann, and provides that the pension payments and other superannuation liabilities of a dissolved body, the Commissioner of Valuation or the Boundary Surveyor shall, on establishment day of Tailte Éireann, become the liabilities of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

Chapter 3 provides that each record held by a dissolved body, the Commissioner of Valuation or the Boundary Surveyor shall, on and after establishment day, stand transferred to and be property of Tailte Éireann and be regarded as being held by Tailte Éireann. The final accounts and final annual report of the dissolved bodies, Commissioner of Valuation, and Boundary Surveyor shall be prepared by Tailte Éireann.

Sections 39 to 41 in Part 4 provide for consequential amendments to other enactments in relation to the establishment of Tailte Éireann and certain valuation-related matters. Schedule 1 provides for the constitution and composition of a board structure for Tailte Éireann and other matters and Schedule 2 provides for references to the provisions of repealed enactments.

No Opposition amendment proposed in the Dáil was accepted. As part of the consideration of the Bill in the Dáil amendments were proposed on the preparation of a report, the establishment of a land price register and the timeline for the valuation of commercial property. Several other proposed amendments were tabled and withdrawn. It is not envisaged at this point to expand the functions of the existing bodies during the merger process. There is already scope in the legislation for the Minister to call for reports. With regard to a timeline for the valuation of commercial property. Section 13 of the Valuation (Amendment) Act 2015 amends section 28(5) of the Valuation Act 2001, which provides for the completion of revision applications within six months of making a valid application.This section has not yet been commenced. The Valuation Office is mindful of the backlog of revision cases from local authorities and third parties. Measures to address the backlog effectively need to be in place before the amendment to section 28(5) can be commenced. Options to address the backlog continue to be considered and the Valuation Office will continue to engage with my Department to find a way to allow section 28(5) to be commenced and adhered to. Government amendments of a technical nature were agreed to in the Dáil.

In conclusion, this is largely technical legislation primarily designed to establish the merged Tailte Éireann organisation in the most efficient way. Accordingly, there are no significant new policy initiatives contained in the legislation. Rather, in line with similar legislation, the Bill is focused on statutory provisions necessary to bring about the merger of the three existing organisations into the new organisation, the governance of Tailte Éireann when it is established and the carrying out of its functions in future. I am thankful to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage for the detailed pre-legislative scrutiny afforded to the general scheme of the Bill in September 2021. I look forward to the contributions of Senators.