Senator Higgins welcomes ‘just in time’ Government legislation to remove cliff edge deadline on registration of private rights of way

9 November 2021

Over the past year Senator Alice-Mary Higgins has been pressing the Government to delay or remove November 30th as the legally scheduled deadline after which the clock would reset to zero on any registration of a private right of way.

Having proposed amendments to address this issue, Senator Higgins recently introduced a Bill to the Seanad to extend the deadline and the Government have now proposed their own legislation.
The Government’s ‘Land and Conveyancing Bill 2021’ will be debated in the Seanad on Tuesday and Thursday this week and will face a tight timeframe to pass all stages before the November 30th ‘cliff
edge’.

Senator Higgins has welcomed the “just-in-time” legislation from Government:

“This Government Bill will remove many of the requirements on registering a prescriptive easement or private right of way which were introduced in the 2009 law, including the cliff-edge deadline of
November 30th. Having previously proposed amendments and legislation to address this issue I am glad the Government have listened to my arguments and to the very strong concerns expressed by the Law Society, the Bar Council, the Irish Farmers Association and many others in every part of Ireland.”

“Removing the deadline is essential to avoid massive legal confusion and protect rights of way, many of which have been used for generations. It is also important from a heritage, accessibility, and community perspective. There is a real potential to strengthen and reimagine these rights of way in the future as part of a network of connectivity in rural and urban Ireland and I will continue to engage with the Department, the Law Reform Commission and others around the next steps for law
and policy on rights of way.”

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10 August 2021

As the stark facts of the IPCC report are underscored by fires and floods across the world. I’m sharing my thoughts on the Climate Bill and how Ireland must and can do better on Climate Action. Immediate actions should include a moratorium on data centres, exit from Energy Charter Treaty, a ban on LNG terminals and leadership re global ban on fracking and #2050istoolate.

Ireland is starting late on climate action and it should be starting stronger. Here are some important challenges, gaps and concerns which will need further attention and action in the months ahead.

Limitation of liability: This problematic clause limits compensation for citizens hurt by climate inaction at the same time as the Government want to introduce new liabilities/compensation for corporations under the Investor Court System/CETA with chill effect. It's more important than ever to stop the ratification of CETA.

Climate Justice: I am glad that the Government removed a weak and damaging definition of climate justice but am disappointed they did not replace it with the strong one as proposed by NGOs and Senators. Government must now prove sincerity on this through concrete global solidarity action for example at COP26 and through funding.

Just Transition: "There are also people involved in just transition who have been ahead of us." A strong Just Transition definition is not included in the legislation. The Government will need to place communities, trade unions and others at centre of Just Transition for a ground up approach to climate action.

SDGs: Ireland played key role in negotiating the UN Sustainable Development Goals yet the Government rejected any amendments to include them in Climate Bill. The SDGs are not aspirational or optional they must be recognised as crucial blueprint for how we survive together on this fragile planet.

Market forces: "If we try to fit climate action into stock market model, we will fail and the world will burn". The Minister's economic framing doesn’t recognise that, as with housing, speculation is a problem not a solution and we can’t afford that.

2030 Target:”51% should be the floor not the ceiling”. Unfortunately the Government rejected my amendment to insert ‘at least’ before ‘51%’ which would have given the Climate Change Advisory Council flexibility to propose more ambitious budgets. Many scientists also have concerns regarding how the 51% target may be calculated.

Oil and Gas: The Climate Bill still allows the Minister to grant NEW licenses and leases for fossil fuel extraction, for example where there has been previous exploration licence. This actively undermines the aim of Bill and may be motivated by fear of litigation through the Energy Charter Treaty. Ireland needs to stop digging!