asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on Government policy regarding the operation of the Law Reform Commission; if he will indicate the areas of law reform he has submitted to the commission for examination and when such reports are likely to be available.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Law Reform Commission.
2.
The Government are concerned to ensure that law reform is pursued in a sustained and systematic manner. The Law Reform Commission have a valuable role in this regard.
Under section 4 (2) (c) of the Law Reform Commission Act, 1975, the previous Attorney General referred the following matters to the commission:
(1) the reform of conveyancing law and practice in areas where this could lead to savings for house purchasers; (2) sexual offences generally, including in particular the law relating to rape and the sexual abuse of children;
(3) the law relating to sheriffs, the collection of taxes and debt collection; (4) the law relating to compensation in personal injury cases, including, in particular, provision for periodic payments and the making of provisional awards and the Statute of Limitations in cases of latent personal injuries; and (5) the following aspects of criminal law: (a) sentencing policy, (b) indexation of fines, (c) confiscating the proceeds of crime and (d) whether there is a need to revise or update the law relating to the various offences which are still mainly governed by pre-1922 legislation, including in particular the law relating to dishonesty, malicious damage and offences against the person.
Because of the extent and complexity of the work concerned it is not possible at this stage for the commission to indicate when that work will be completed.
I propose to send the Deputy, for his information, a copy of the text of a speech made by the new President of the Law Reform Commission at a press reception on 23 April 1987.
Have this Government yet given any requisitions to the Law Reform Commission as to the area of law they consider needs attention? In particular, would the Taoiseach consider submitting to the commission a request for the codification of the incredible mish-mash that exists in social welfare law? Would he also consider submitting for examination any aspects of family law or insurance law?
Perhaps the Deputy would read the president's speech and then communicate with me about those matters. The list the Law Reform Commission have on hands is comprehensive and complex. Whereas I am sure I could agree with the Deputy that the other matters need attention, it might be a bit much to add to the list which the Law Reform Commission already have on hands.
Where is the value of it all? They have presented many reports already. Can the Taoiseach indicate when any of those reports will be implemented? We see no sign of any implementation of the multifarious law reforms which have been advocated by the Law Reform Commission in these reports. Is it a matter of further reports being added to the list?
I would hope not, though it was pointed out during the course of the press reception to which I referred that the situation the Deputy complains of does exist. The Oireachtas has not been as assiduous as it should have been in dealing with the reports of the Law Reform Commission over recent years. I would like to be able to promise the Deputy that this situation will improve considerably in the period immediately ahead, but there are other pressures. I would like to think that this Government will get on with the programme of law reform as expeditiously as possible. I feel that we might avail more of the Seanad in that regard. Major pieces of law reform might commence in the Seanad and be dealt with comprehensively and in detail, so that by the time the legislation would reach this House we would not have all that much work to do.
I ask the Taoiseach to clarify the position. Is it the case that the House could not expect to see any new amending legislation in the five areas referred to which are currently under consideration by the Law Reform Commission? If that is the position, could the Taoiseach indicate if he has received any indication from the chairman as to when they might be reporting on any of these five areas?
The president indicated in the speech to which I have referred that he will be looking at the programme to assess what priorities he might award. At this stage I cannot give the Deputy any specific undertaking in regard to any of these five areas.
Is it the position that we should not expect any legislation from the Government in these areas until they have heard from the Law Reform Commission?
No, that would not be the position. The Law Reform Commission are really only in aid of the Government in this respect. There is nothing to prevent any Government from going ahead with law reform legislation of their own. The problem has been that reports of the Law Reform Commission have not got the attention from the Oireachtas in recent years that a zealous, reforming Oireachtas would have given.