Builders responsible for faults which are discovered up to 15 years after the completion of a building may be sued by the purchaser if the recommendations in a consultation paper from the Law Reform Commission pass into law.
This is the kind of complaint which would be affected if the Government proposes legislation at the end of the consultation process which is initiated by this paper, the sixth publication from the commission this year.
The LRC has sought submissions and will discuss its recommendations with interested parties before making final recommendations in the form of a report to the Attorney General, Mr David Byrne.
The consultation paper on the Statutes of Limitation, which was sought by the Attorney General, was published by the LRC yesterday. On November 11th last Mr Byrne asked the commission to review the Statute of Limitations 1957 and 1991.
These statutes require a plaintiff to initiate action within six years of the emergence of the problem, except in cases of personal injury, where the time limit has already been changed, following a report from the LRC.
The Attorney General asked the commission to consider claims for damages where the person was not aware, or could not have been aware, of the problem until after the expiry of the time limit.
The consultation paper proposes that the limitation period should begin only from the time when the defect has been discovered, and that the person who suffered the loss would then have three years in which to sue.
Such a change would involve introducing a "discoverability test" into Irish law in this area, which would mean that the person should have had a reasonable opportunity to discover the problem and its causes.
Alongside this proposal, the commission suggests that an overall cut-off point of 15 years for claims for damages should apply, regardless of when a defect or omission comes to light.
This is in order to avoid an indefinite threat of litigation.
The deadline for submissions on this consultation paper is January 29th, 1999.