Danny Healy-Rae warns deadline caused rights-of-way chaos
Danny Healy-Rae spoke about the extension of the 30th November deadline for registering rights of way, welcoming its postponement and urging broad consultation on replacement rules. He argued the 2009 Bill's 12‑year long-usage requirement and the fixed deadline had caused confusion, costly disputes and unnecessary legal action.
Opening remarks and deadline extension
He congratulated the minister on the birth of a child and welcomed the Government's decision to set aside the 30th of November deadline. He said he had raised the issue since he first came up here in early 2016 and repeatedly during 2021, including asking the Taoiseach to extend the deadline in light of COVID interruptions.
Practical impacts on landowners
He outlined real-world problems from the deadline and registration rules, including a case where a Dublin couple who bought a house in rural Kerry later needed the signatures of 14 neighbours before they could sell. He warned that rights-of-way and bound-ditch disputes had fuelled long rows, solicitor letters between neighbours and, in one instance, severe personal consequences for those involved.
Problems with the 2009 Bill and long-usage rule
He criticised the 2009 Bill requirement that a right-of-way be used for 12 years before registration, saying people with 10 or 11 years' use by the deadline would be forced to start again and lose their long usage. He called that aspect of the law "very, very wrong" and a source of further legal uncertainty.
Calls for publicity, consultation and simpler processes
He urged clear publicity of any new rules, extensive engagement and allowance for submissions so the system works in practice and reduces court cases. He said simpler systems are needed to avoid costly litigation, thanked the Government for acceding to his request to extend the deadline until new proposals are brought forward, and asked for broad input on the new arrangements.
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First of all, Minister, I too want to congratulate you on the birth of a child and wish you well for the future. I'm glad, of course, that the deadline of the 30th of November has been set aside. It's something that I called for when I came up here first in early 2016. I called for it numerous times this year in the Chamber here inside. I asked the Taoiseach in light of the fact that the COVID and the coronavirus, that things were not going on as they should have been, and at least extended for that space of time. But this is better, you're going to do something more, and I appreciate that. I realise it's not going to be very easy. You see, the deadline was wrong in many ways. First of all, not everyone knew about the deadline. And those that did were very worried about it and didn't know what to do. And that's something, whatever rules will be made next June, at least, that need to be publicised so that everyone knows. And there needs to be a lot of interaction in here and out there and everywhere to ensure that we get it right. Because whether it is by long usage or whatever, and we're reverting to that now, we're reverting to that for the interim period. Because there will be people today, tomorrow and every day looking to rectify their situation. I mean, we had an instance where a Dublin couple bought a house in rural Kerry, and after six or seven years they wanted to sell it. And lo and behold, they had to get the signatures of 14 people along the road before they could sell it. And before the sale could go through. So, rights of ways, there has been disputes, there has been rows, and certainly there were a recipe for rows that lasted years and years. And sadly, I know of one case where, not too very far away from me, where one of the people involved in the right-of-way dispute lost some of his faculties, and he was never again the same man after a row, and a serious row. You see, this thing of instituting legal proceedings against neighbours, and getting them to sign, that's all wrong. What I'd be saying to neighbours is, at least try and go as far as he can on agreeing. Ask the neighbour, do you mind me registering over your land, and go that far, because what was happening, letters were coming out from solicitor's office, from a neighbour to a neighbour, and that was very hurtful, and caused rancour and dispute right away. This deadline was wrong in another scenario as well, where you had to have been using the right-of-way for 12 years. Now, some people would maybe have been using it 10 or 11, by the 30th of November coming up, and they couldn't register then, and that meant that they would have to go back to the start again, and to gain long usage again. That aspect of the 2009 Bill was very, very wrong. So, there's an awful lot of work to be done, Minister, to ensure we get it right. I mean, the disputes over rights of ways and bound ditches, they have been keeping the courts very busy, going back and going back. We do need to get it right, and we need to advertise it and give some kind of allowance for submissions to be made independently, or by parties or whatever, to see how the new system would operate, so that we get it right. A lot of people must be allowed to have an input to ensure that we do get it right this time, because there's things like the wheat of the right-of-way and all that needs to be sorted out, because otherwise there's going to be a need for more court cases, and that's the thing that court cases are very costly on whoever loses. And if we could avoid that and have some simpler systems so that people wouldn't have to revert to that, that's what I'm calling for, Minister. And, Minister, I do thank the Government for exceeding to my request of extending the deadline, or at least until next year, until they bring forward some new proposals. Please letter it to Mughat, thank you very much, thank you very much for independence.
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