Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 July 2004
311 Mr. J. O’Keeffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of Acts under his Department’s ambit which have been the subject of a published statute law restatement; and further restatements which will be published before end of 2004; the number of persons in his Department who are working on restatements on a full-time basis; if priority is being given to such projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21207/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe restatement of the Succession Act 1965 has been laid before each House of the Oireachtas, in accordance with section 8 of the Statute Law (Restatement ) Act 2002. I can also inform the Deputy that before the 2002 Act was enacted, my Department had made informal restatements of the Refugee Act 1996 and the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, each incorporating the various amendments to date, which are publicly available on its website. The informal restatements have been kept up to date. I intend to process them under the 2002 Act as time and resources allow in the coming months.
The Deputy will also be aware that the programme for Government includes a commitment to codify all substantive criminal law in a single crimes Act. As a first step in what will be a major undertaking in terms of criminal law reform and reorganisation, I have established an expert group, chaired by Professor Finbarr McAuley to undertake a study of the possible approaches to codification and to consider the scope and extent of such approaches. The group was asked to consider the respective ideas of consolidation and statute law restatement in developing and maintaining a criminal code. The expert group reported on 30 June 2004. I am currently considering its findings and recommendations.
On Committee Stage of the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Bill 1999, I gave a commitment for a restatement of the proceeds of crime legislation and expressed the hope that such a restatement will be published by the end of the year. While it is hoped to prioritise this work, it is, as always, subject to change in response to developments at both national and international level. A restatement of the law on corruption is to be undertaken by the end of this year and that project is currently with the statute law revision unit of the Office of the Attorney General. No staff in my Department are working on restatements on a full-time basis. The process of preparing and publishing restatements under the Statute Law (Restatement) Act 2002 is undertaken in my Department in conjunction with the advancement of the Government's legislative programme by various officers to whom particular subjects have been assigned at any one time.
