I move amendment No. 1, standing in the name of Senator Yeats:—
In sub-section (1), line 21, to insert before "which" the words "over which a public right of way for foot passengers, animals and vehicles exists and".
The section, as framed, is very wide in scope in that it authorises the road authority to declare any road not a public road to be a public road. The 1925 Act provided that there should be, firstly, a public right of way over a road, secondly, that such a road would connect two roads, and, thirdly, that such a road would not be less than 11 feet wide. These restrictions are now, by this amendment which I am proposing, reduced to the requirement that there must be a public right of way for foot passengers, animals and vehicles before a local authority can declare such a road to be a public road.
There is a possibility that if this amendment was not inserted, roads which local authorities had never any intention of taking over could be taken over. An example which would spring immediately to the minds of city people would be the road through Trinity College which could be taken over by the road authority in the city unless this amendment was inserted. That, apart from the merits or demerits of such a proposal, would be an interference of a right guaranteed under the Constitution, namely, the right of private property.
I think that it would be very inadvisable if that were so and if we passed a Bill which might possibly cause such an injury. Quite possibly, it might lead to the Bill itself being deemed in the courts to be unconstitutional. For these reasons, I move the amendment for Senator Yeats, which should commend itself to the House.
