An Oireachtas committee examining property rights will assess the possibility of placing a cap on the value of development land, its chairman said yesterday.
Fianna Fáil TD, Mr Denis O'Donovan, said the Committee on the Constitution would examine "fundamental" property rights in a review which is expected to continue throughout the year. "This is an area that hasn't been looked at for 50 years," he said.
The committee is also embarking on a review of the rights of people with disabilities, although Mr Hogan said its "priority" was to tackle the provisions in the Constitution on property rights.
Having completed its review of the institutions of State, he said the committee would finish its examination of property rights and the rights of people with disabilities before conducting an examination into the remaining articles in the Constitution.
With the property industry likely to oppose any cap on values, the committee said it would invite submissions from interested bodies and individuals. It wanted to conduct the examination in a transparent manner and would conduct hearings in public.
"One wonders why property in Dublin costs more than most other cities in Europe," said Mr O'Donovan. "I think the worry facing the Government, and the country also, is that values have escalated over the last 20 years."
All aspects of property ownership would be examined, he said. Included in the review will be the report in 1974 by Mr Justice Kenny, which recommended that speculation in building land be ended by forcing owners to sell at current (i.e. agricultural) market prices.
In relation to a possible cap on the value of industrial land, Mr O'Donovan said the committee would have to examine whether such a move would be constitutional.
The committee will also discuss the provision to walkers of access to agricultural lands and its implications for land-owners' insurance. In addition, it will look at the acquisition of land for the national roads programme and archeological examinations of such property.
Mr O'Donovan said the committee was responding to a request by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern. While he hoped that the work would be near completion by the end of the year, he said it hoped to make recommendations to Government next year.
He was speaking as the committee published its eighth report, on the institutions of Government, which was begun under the chairmanship of Mr Brian Lenihan TD. The committee's review of the overall Constitution follows a report published in 1996 by the Constitution review group.
The latest review examined the provisions on Cabinet confidentiality and the offices of the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Attorney General. Major amendments were not required in these areas, it said.
Neither were changes required in the composition of government, budgetary estimates, the executive power of the State and the declaration of a state of emergency. It also said no change was required in the provisions relating to international relations, war and neutrality.
The Sinn Féin member of the committee, Mr Arthur Morgan, said he opposed the decision not to recommend change to the provision on neutrality.
