What is a Revised Act?

A Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of that Act. It brings together in a single text all amendments and changes to an Act, making the law more accessible for all users. In Ireland, once an Act on a specific legal topic is enacted it is often amended subsequently. For example, the Planning and Development Act 2000 has been amended or otherwise affected by over 160 Acts and Statutory Instruments since it was originally enacted. The costly exercise of assembling, reading and understanding the amendments made to the 2000 Act is avoided by the availability of a consolidated Revised Act version of the Planning and Development Act 2000.

What Acts have been Revised?

Since the Commission was given functional responsibility for this area in 2006, it has published over 400 Revised Acts. These comprise:

• Around 170 pre-2005 Acts, such as the Planning and Development Act 2000, selected on the basis of the Commission’s public consultation as to which Acts are the most frequently used; and
• All Acts enacted from 2004 onwards that have been textually amended (with the exception of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 which is in preparation, and the Finance Acts).

The Commission maintains all these Acts on an ongoing basis. In addition, because it is committed to publishing Revised versions of all Acts enacted since 2004 (with the exceptions mentioned) the list of published Revised Acts now comprises a significant percentage of the most-used Acts that remain in force in the State. 

Comment and Feedback

The Commission invites comment and user feedback on its published Revised Acts from the legal community and the public. It aims to add to the stock of Revised Acts to make further frequently used Acts available in this consolidated form. Please send any comments to revisedacts@lawreform.ie.