Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I raise the issue of the abuse of the lis pendens system in Ireland. The filing of a lis pendens renders the sale of the land over which it is filed virtually impossible as no purchaser would be willing to take the risk of buying a property with litigation pending over it. As the system stands, it is possible for a lay litigant to file a lis pendens with the court for virtually no cost. Meanwhile, undoing a lis pendens is extremely expensive for the person who owns the land it is filed against. It can take years to overturn and requires the person effected to go to the High Court. Members of the House, reform of the current lis pendens system has been called for on multiple occasions in the past and many proposals have been made on this. In 2020, a report was issued by the Review of the Administration of Civil Justice, chaired by the former president of the High Court. It recommended that the life span of a lis pendens be restricted to 28 days. Other straightforward reforms could involve requiring the plaintiff to swear before a judge that they are filing the lis pendens in good faith, or, mandating that it be followed up by an application to the court within a certain time span, or that a court could award damages to the property owner if the lis pendens filing is found to have caused financial damage.

This is a real issue that causes severe problems for people. There is the obvious need for reform and there are many solutions. I call on the Minister for Justice to come before this Chamber to answer why the Government has taken absolutely no action on this issue since.