Cabinet to repeal about 300 ‘out-of-date or irrelevant’ laws

The Cabinet has agreed to repeal almost 300 pieces of legislation enacted between 1922 and 1950 which are now out of date or irrelevant.

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin yesterday approved publication of the Statute Law Revision Bill 2016.

The Public Safety (Emergency Powers) Act 1923 enacted during the Irish Civil War is to be repealed.

It included the imposition of a death penalty or penal servitude for anyone found guilty of an armed revolt against the Government of Saorstát Éireann.

The Emergency Powers Act 1939 granted wide-ranging powers at the outbreak of the second World War, including the power to suspend the operation of any law.

Arthur Griffith

The Griffith Settlement Act 1923 granted pensions to members of Sinn Féin founder Arthur Griffith’s immediate family following his death. Both Acts are being repealed.

The new Bill follows on from the earlier Statute Law Revision Acts, which completed the review of all pre-independence legislation up to 1820. A total of 1,124 Acts were examined during the preparation of the Bill and 294 were identified as suitable for repeal.

They include the Constitution (Removal of Oath) Act 1933, which repealed Article 22 of the Free State Constitution requiring members of the Oireachtas to take an oath “declaring their faithfulness to His Majesty King George V and his heirs and successors”.

The Spanish Civil War (Non-Intervention) Act 1937 outlined the international obligations of Saorstát Éireann in relation to the civil war waged in Spain, and prohibited citizens of Saorstát Éireann from participating in that war.

Also to be removed are a number of Acts which amended the 1922 Constitution and the Telephone Capital Acts 1924 to 1938.

Mr Howlin said the legislation of the period showed a nation in its infancy developing its own legislative framework.