Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive statement. As he stated, Tailte Éireann is to be the name of the new body. That is important. There is a need for marketing in that regard. We know it involves a merger of the Property Registration Authority, Ordnance Survey Ireland and the Valuation Office. It is important legislation.

I thank the Oireachtas joint committee for its extensive pre-legislative scrutiny on the Bill, which was acknowledged by the Minister of State. It was a constructive engagement by all members of the committee, as is the case for most of our work on the committee. We work well together.

I will be fully supporting the Bill. I looked back at the debate on the Bill at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage on Thursday, 16 September 2021. I thank Mary Hurley, then assistant secretary at the Department. She is now Secretary General at another Department. Some particularly interesting points were made, especially with regard to issues raised by Deputy Duffy. He raised questions relating to land management. He spoke about the ongoing work of the Land Development Agency, LDA, which I also thought important. I acknowledge the importance of the LDA in terms of its keeping of State lands and its records, mapping and data management. We do not need duplication. Obviously, the LDA is part of this. I take it there will be a greater synergy between these agencies. Tailte Éireann is going to be the lead agency. The LDA has a lot of other work to do, and I acknowledge the importance of its work, but it is about being clever with our resources, energies and expertise. This organisation will be fit for purpose. It has a lot of historical information, which is important. I acknowledge and thank Mary Hurley for the significant amount of work she did on the Bill. One can clearly see from the minutes how she engaged and touched on all that. That is an important point and perhaps the Minister of State will bring it back to the Department.

Another issue raised during pre-legislative scrutiny related to the offices of Ordnance Survey Ireland in the Phoenix Park. I am just commenting on this. There is a very important building there but, more important, within that building there is a very important historical manuscripts record. I have visited the office. For anyone who wants a bit of a history lesson or to find about historical maps and land registries, by golly, it is an education down there. The staff are wonderful. Much of the work is still quite manual and that is exciting in itself. The staff are exceptionally helpful. When I engaged with them, they engaged with me. Having carried out other research in respect of properties out my way in terms of historical context, I found it an eye-opener. As the Minister of State has a significant interest in these matter and heritage falls within the remit of his Department, he should consider what will be done with all that. I presume it will all merge under this body. It is important work and I acknowledge and value it. It is very traditional down there. One might say it has not quite moved with the times. That is not a criticism. There is a great sense of antiquity about the whole place and how it operates. I am mindful that we are moving to a new era, with a new body and way of doing business. We are going to embrace technology and that is all very clever, but I ask the Minister of State, with his particular interest in heritage, to consider what will be done with that building and the expertise of its staff, particularly in the context of continuity. Consideration should also be given to the historical manuscripts and how that dovetails with the National Library of Ireland and other services. That is important.

The Bill makes absolute sense. It is long overdue. Most important is the issue of mapping and how synergies are developed in terms of our understanding of State land resources but also those outside the control of the State. That is important if we are to embrace Housing for All and new housing policies in future and to develop a land management policy, which we have to do anyway. Land presents many opportunities and possibilities and this dovetails with the new organisation to be known as Tailte Éireann. I wish it well.

I acknowledge the work of the Department in preparing the Bill. It has been a long process. I also acknowledge the interactive website that is already in place for Tailte Éireann. I visited the website yesterday and one can see from it that the Property Registration Authority, Ordnance Survey Ireland and the Valuation Office are already in transition, before the legislation is signed off. That is important. It is clear they are preparing and that is to be commended. I acknowledge their support but, in particular, I recognise the work and drive of the Department in respect of the legislation. I wish it well.