There are certain problems arising from the due consideration of grave matters which are proceeding in the country. This is a wholly technical Bill, of a strictly non-controversial character. Might I suggest that we put this through and recommit it and the amendments on the Report Stage?
Committee on Finance. - Registration of Title Bill, 1963— Committee Stage (Resumed).
SECTION 25.
Debate resumed on the following amendment:
In page 14, line 5, to delete "three" and substitute "six".
—(Deputy M. J. O'Higgins).
Can we accept my amendments to-day?
Certainly.
And let Deputy O'Higgins put down his amendments for the Report Stage and then recommit?
Yes. There is nothing controversial in the Bill. Would Deputy Corish agree with that?
It suits me. I am not accepting amendment No. 27 by Deputy O'Higgins. We shall be rephrasing the section in order to meet Deputy O'Higgins's point.
I shall not move all Deputy O'Higgins's amendments on the understanding that we recommit the Bill on the next Stage.
It is necessary to go over every amendment in turn.
But we need not discuss it.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
Amendment No. 11 not moved.
Section 25, as amended, agreed to.
Sections 26 to 37, inclusive, agreed to.
SECTION 38.
I move amendment No. 12:
In page 17, lines 25 to 27, to delete from "including" to "land" and to insert, between lines 29 and 30, a new subsection as follows:
"(2) ‘Right' in subsection (1) includes any rights or equities existing by reason of the interest of such owner being deemed to be a graft upon his previous interest in the land, and a reference in any other enactment to land registered subject to equities shall include land the registration of which is subject to any such rights or equities by virtue of that subsection."
Would the Minister care to make a short explanatory statement on the amendment as a supplement to the White Paper he has circulated?
This is a drafting amendment the purpose of which is to make it clear that, in the case of land vested in a purchaser under the Land Purchase Acts, registration with a possessory title under the provisions of this Bill will mean the same thing as registration with a notice of equities under existing law. I should, perhaps, explain that the "equities" which are protected by this notice are the rights and interests arising from the fact that the fee simple vested in a purchaser by the Land Commission is deemed to be a graft on his previous tenant interest in his holding. I am advised that, without this amendment, there might be difficulty in construing certain references contained in other enactments to "land registered subject to equities".
Amendment agreed to.
Section 38, as amended, agreed to.
Sections 39 to 50, inclusive, agreed to.
SECTION 51.
I move amendment No. 13:
In subsection (2), page 21, to delete line 30 and substitute "not operate to transfer the land.".
This is a drafting amendment the purpose of which is to cure a defect in the wording of the subsection in so far as it applies to the transfer of a leasehold interest. It is meaningless in such a case to talk about not conferring "any estate", as a leasehold interest is not an estate.
Amendment agreed to.
Amendment No. 14 not moved.
Section 51, as amended, agreed to.
SECTION 52.
Amendment No. 15 not moved.
Section 52 agreed to.
Sections 53 and 54 agreed to.
SECTION 55.
Amendment No. 16 not moved.
Section 55 agreed to.
Sections 56 to 58, inclusive, agreed to.
SECTION 59.
Amendments Nos. 17 and 18 not moved.
Sections 59 and 60 agreed to.
SECTION 61.
I move amendment No. 19:
In subsection (3), page 24, line 18, to delete "beneficially".
This is a drafting amendment. In using the word "beneficially" we have inadvertently excluded from the scope of the paragraph persons to whom land may have been devised as trustees. Although such persons are not beneficially entitled to the land it may be convenient that they should be registered as owners and the object of the amendment is to enable this to be done.
Amendment agreed to.
I move amendment No. 20:
In subsection (3), page 24, to delete from "or as to the terms", in line 26, to "of the will", in line 28, and substitute "and".
This also is a drafting amendment, the object of which is to delete certain references which might give rise to ambiguity and which in any case are not essential to the meaning of the paragraph.
Amendment agreed to.
Section 61, as amended, agreed to.
Sections 62 and 63 agreed to.
SECTION 64.
Question proposed: "That Section 64 stand part of the Bill."
In this section there is a typographical error and I should like the permission of the House to have it corrected. The word "of" is omitted before the word "conveyancing". I should like to have it corrected in the reprinting.
Where is this?
On page 26, line 40, in subsection (4).
The correction will be made in the next printing.
You want to put the word "of" so that it will read "within the meaning of the Conveyancing Acts"?
Yes.
Very well.
Question put and agreed to.
Sections 65 and 66 agreed to.
SECTION 67.
Amendment No. 21 not moved.
Section 67 agreed to.
Section 68 agreed to.
SECTION 69.
I move amendment No. 22:
In subsection (1) page 28, to delete paragraph (n), lines 14 and 15.
The purpose of this amendment is to remove from the scope of section 69 of the Bill charges under the Land Reclamation Act, 1949. Burdens under this section must be registered if they are to affect registered land and they take effect only from the date on which they are so registered. On the other hand, charges under the Land Reclamation Act take effect as from the date on which the Minister for Lands certifies that the relevant improvement works have been completed and they are, therefore, more appropriate to section 72 of the Bill, which lists the burdens that affect registered land without themselves being registered. Land reclamation charges do, in fact come within the term "drainage charges" in paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of that section.
Amendment agreed to.
I move amendment No. 23:
In subsection (1), page 28, line 16, before "a local authority" to insert "the Land Commission or".
The Land Commission is sometimes concerned with rights to lay pipe-lines on land and the purpose of this amendment is to enable the Commission to procure registration of such rights in its favour.
I want to recall to the memory of the House that we have agreed to accept all the Minister's amendments without discussion. That does not mean by any means that we necessarily assent to them, but that they are to be looked at again on recommittal on Report Stage.
Amendment agreed to.
Section 69, as amended, agreed to.
Sections 70 and 71 agreed to.
SECTION 72.
I move amendment No. 24:
In subsection (1), page 29, between lines 31 and 32, to insert before paragraph (d) the following new paragraphs:
"( ) rights of the Land Commission or of any person under a vesting order, vesting fiat, final list or transfer order made or published under the Land Purchase Acts;
( ) rights of the Land Commission upon the execution of an order for possession issued under section 37 of the Land Act, 1927."
The purpose of this amendment is to resolve certain doubts which exist at present regarding the effect, in relation to registered land, of the vesting orders and certain other instruments made by the Land Commission under the Land Purchase Acts. The Registration of Title Acts provide that the register shall be conclusive evidence of the title of an owner as appearing thereon and that a transfer of registered land shall not be effective until it is completed by registration. On the other hand, the relevant provisions of the Land Purchase Acts declare that a vesting order shall be effectual to vest land in the Land Commission or other person named therein. The Land Commission is required to apply for registration of an order as soon as may be after it is made, but the Acts clearly do not envisage that the actual vesting of the land should be dependent on registration or that it should be capable of being defeated by the prior registration of a transferee for value.
Amendment agreed to.
Section 72, as amended, agreed to.
SECTION 73.
Amendment No. 25 not moved.
Section 73 agreed to.
Sections 74 to 79, inclusive, agreed to.
SECTION 80.
I move amendment No. 26:
In subsection (1), page 32, lines 1 and 2, to delete "Companies Acts, 1908 to 1959" and substitute "Companies Act, 1963".
This amendment is necessitated by the fact that we have had the Companies Act, 1963 passed.
Amendment agreed to.
Section 80, as amended, agreed to.
Section 81 agreed to.
SECTION 82.
Amendment No. 27 not moved.
Section 82 agreed to.
Sections 83 to 89, inclusive, agreed to.
SECTION 90.
I move amendment No. 28:
In page 33, to delete lines 45 and 46 and the words "may be", in line 47 and substitute the following paragraphs:
"(a) transfer or charge the said land or create a lien thereon by deposit of the land certificate (or, where that person is the Land Commission, exercise any other rights of ownership, including enforcement of the right to vacant possession), or
(b) transfer or charge the said charge or create a lien thereon by deposit of the certificate of charge,".
The purpose of this amendment is to remedy difficulties which arise for the Land Commission where it acquires registered land by ordinary transfer but is obliged to delay registration of the transaction for a period, as, for example, in the case of complicated exchange proceedings.
Amendment agreed to.
Section 90, as amended, agreed to.
Sections 91 to 93, inclusive, agreed to.
SECTION 94.
Amendments Nos. 29, 30 and 31 not moved.
Section 94 agreed to.
Sections 95 to 99, inclusive, agreed to.
SECTION 100.
Amendment No. 32 not moved.
Section 100 agreed to.
Sections 101 to 106, inclusive, agreed to.
NEW SECTION.
I move amendment No. 33:
Before section 107, but in Part III, to insert a new section as follows:
"Searches and Priority
(1) Any entry in, or index to, a register and any registry map may be inspected by any person at such times and on such conditions as may be prescribed.
(2) Any person may apply to the Registrar to make an official search in a register or registry map and to issue a certificate of the result of the search."
This is of some importance. The purpose of this amendment is to write into the Bill the principle that the registers are open to inspection by the public. This principle was introduced in 1892 and it is an important feature of the system. I consider that the principle is sufficiently important to warrant our declaring it in statutory form in this Bill.
Is it thought desirable, since you are making it a statutory right, to prescribe any fee for the official search and the map?
There is an omnibus fee section which covers that.
Which envisages fees being made by order? Right.
Amendment agreed to.
NEW SECTION.
I move amendment No. 34:
Before section 107, but in Part III, to insert a new section as follows:
"(1) Where the Registrar is satisfied that the person to whom a certificate of the result of an official search is issued has entered into a contract to purchase, take a lease of, or lend money on the security of a charge on, the land to which the certificate relates, the Registrar shall, at the request of that person, make an entry in the register in the prescribed form.
(2) In any such case, an application for registration of the instrument to complete the contract shall, provided the application is in order and is delivered at the central office within a period of fourteen days after the date of issue of the certificate, rank in priority before any other application for registration made in respect of the land within that period."
This is an important innovation also. We hope by this amendment to provide a simple and foolproof method of official search by which purchases of registered land can be completed with absolute safety and without the need for personal attendance at the Land Registry. The system which I am proposing will accord to purchasers a priority period of 14 days within which the transactions may be completed and registered. In effect, an official search under the new section will not only reveal the existing state of the registered title but will also predetermine what the state of the title will be when the purchaser applies for registration.
Amendment agreed to.
Section 107 agreed to.
SECTION 108.
I move amendment No. 35:
In page 40, to delete lines 4 and 5 and substitute "The law relating to the devolution of real estate on death shall apply to".
This is a drafting amendment for the purpose of avoiding a reference to the Administration of Estates Act, 1959. I shall be proposing to the Dáil next year that this Act be repealed and replaced by a new Administration of Estates and Wills Bill now in course of preparation.
Amendment agreed to.
Section 108, as amended, agreed to.
Sections 109 to 111, inclusive, agreed to.
SECTION 112.
I move amendment No. 36:
In page 40, line 22, to delete "freehold land to which this Part applies," and substitute "registered freehold land,".
This is purely a drafting amendment. It is in order to have the form of words used here consistent with the form used throughout the Bill.
Amendment agreed to.
Section 112, as amended, agreed to.
Sections 113 to 117, inclusive, agreed to.
Amendments Nos. 37 and 38 have been ruled out of order as tending to impose charges on State funds.
SECTION 118.
I move amendment No. 39:
In page 43, line 39, to delete "it" and substitute "the compensation (other than costs)".
Compensation payable under section 118 of the Bill will include the costs incurred by a claimant in establishing his claim. Such costs represent out-of-pocket expenses and it was not intended—neither would it be appropriate—that they should be applicable in discharge of incumbrances as provided in paragraph (a) of subsection (6) of the section. The amendment provides for a suitable alteration in the wording, to exclude costs from the effect of the paragraph.
Amendment agreed to.
Section 118, as amended, agreed to.
Sections 119 to 123, inclusive, agreed to.
SECTION 124.
I move amendment No. 40:
In page 45, to delete paragraph (m), lines 43 and 44.
We are deleting something here because we were never quite sure why it was put in in the first place and nobody seems to be able to find out. The section deals with the powers of the Registration of Title Rules Committee to make general rules for the carrying into effect of the objects of the proposed Act. The paragraph we propose to delete by this amendment refers to circumstances under which payment of solicitors' costs or fees may be remitted. The rules have never dealt with the question of remission of costs and fees and nobody seems to be quite clear how they could, or in what circumstances they should, be remitted. As far as one can see the paragraph is unnecessary and it is, therefore, being omitted.
Amendment agreed to.
Section 124, as amended, agreed to.
Section 125 agreed to.
Schedule agreed to.
Title agreed to.
Bill reported with amendments.
Report Stage?
Next Tuesday week.
Might I, for the record, just mention again that our understanding is that the Bill and the amendments will be recommitted.
Report Stage ordered for Tuesday, 3rd March, 1964.