I move that the Bill be now read a Second Time. The purpose of this Bill, as its Long Title states, is "to repeal expressly certain enactments or parts of enactments relating to local authorities which may be regarded as spent or which have ceased to be in force otherwise than by express repeal or which have, by lapse of time or otherwise, become unnecessary".
The enactments which it is proposed to repeal in whole or in part are listed in the Schedule to the Bill, the extent of the repeal being indicated in each case. More than 70 enactments are affected ranging from the Grand Jury (Ireland) Act, 1816, to the Local Government Act of 1946. The reasons for repeal in each case are set out briefly in the explanatory memorandum which has been circulated to Deputies.
As Deputies will appreciate, the many changes which have taken place in local government since 1816 have made many existing statutory provisions unnecessary or obsolete. Such provisions, however, remain on the Statute Book until they are expressly repealed. In addition, enactments sometimes contain transitory provisions whose application is confined to a limited period, and which are spent when this period expires.
I wish to emphasise that this Bill introduces no new legislative principle. It will make no change whatever in the existing law relating to local authorities. Its purpose is merely to clear away obsolete provisions of the local government code. The retention of these obsolete provisions creates confusion in the minds of persons studying or administering local government law.
A special committee of Seanad Éireann considered this Bill and meticulously examined every item on the Schedule. As a result of that examination, a number of amendments were made in the Schedule to the Bill as introduced. I can assure the House that no provision which is not clearly spent, obsolete or unnecessary is being repealed.
Apart from its immediate and obvious intention, there is a more farreaching purpose behind this Bill. It constitutes the first step towards the simplification and modernisation of local government law. The next step will be the preparation of a Statute Law Revision Bill, and finally a Consolidation Bill to bring up to date the legislation dealing with local government. This is a large and difficult task, but I think Deputies will agree that it will be a welcome reform, and one which is long overdue. As I informed the House in the course of the debate on the Estimate for my Department in July, a text-book on local government law has been prepared and would already have been published only that certain amendments may be necessary therein in view of the provisions of the Local Government (County Administration) Bill, 1950, which is at present before the House.
I think Deputies will welcome this Bill for what it will immediately achieve and even more because it is intended to lead to the eventual simplification of the existing complicated code of law relating to local authorities and their administration. I accordingly commend it to the House.