asked the Taoiseach if he will state the terms of reference of the section of the Attorney-General's office which has been set up to deal with law reform, and, in particular, whether the revision and codification of statute law is being considered.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Law Reform.
asked the Taoiseach if he will state why the law reform committee which was set up some years ago never functioned.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to answer Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together.
The new section in the office of the Attorney-General, to which the Deputy refers, is, no doubt, the Statute Law Reform and Consolidation Office. This office has not yet come into existence, but it will be established early in the new financial year. Its functions are broadly indicated in its title.
As I indicated in reply to a Dáil question on the 15th December, 1949, consolidation is a process distinct from codification. I assume that, in referring to codification, the Deputy intended to refer to consolidation.
The Director of the Statute Law Reform and Consolidation Office will be responsible, under the general instructions of the Attorney—General, for initiating proposals for law reform and consolidation, and for preparing draft Bills to give effect to such proposals. With the help of an assistant, he will carry out all the necessary research and other preliminary work, but the various Departments of State will be consulted and kept informed in regard to measures with which they are respectively concerned.
The law reform committee, the setting up of which had been under consideration for some time past, has not, in fact, been established, and, in view of the decision to set up the Statute Law Reform and Consolidation Office, it is not now intended to proceed further with the proposal for a committee on law reform.
Will the Taoiseach say when it was first proposed to set up the law reform committee referred to in Question No. 2?
The question of setting up a law reform committee has been considered for very many years. I think it was either in 1941 or in 1945 that the matter was considered. I personally spoke on a number of occasions on Estimates of the Minister for Justice in connection with law reform and the Bar Council sent forward certain suggestions during that period.