asked the Minister for Justice if he will state when first registration will be made in respect of application No. FR 305/73 which was made in 1973, in view of the fact that the delay in dealing with it is holding up a local authority programme.
Ceisteanna-Questions. Oral Answers. - Land Registry Application.
38.
It is expected that first registration will be completed in about ten days. I regret the delay in this case.
Delays in the Land Registry have been a cause of concern for some time and investigations to achieve a fundamental reorganisation of the work system have been in progress now for some years and are still in progress.
I appreciate the Minister's reply but we are having continuous trouble with long delays and most solicitors have found the same. Is there any way that the Minister could speed up the process of land registry?
I am well aware of the irritation the delays in the Land Registry cause. These delays are not the fault of the staff in the Land Registry; they are the fault of the system, which is essentially the same system as was devised in 1891 when registration started. It is not capable of dealing with modern demands on it. We are having a fundamental reorganisation carried out. I am glad to say I gave a direction last week for radical changes in regard to the mapping procedures, because it often happens that these procedures are the reasons for the delays. I hope that fundamental change, plus some other changes which are presently under consideration, will bring the Land Registry up to date so that it will be able to cope with the volume of business it has to cope with in this day and age.
Would the Minister agree that the decentralisation of the Land Registry to suit the different constituencies would help to eliminate the long delays?
It is a possible solution and I am not saying that it is one that has been ruled out or accepted. It is one of the factors that is under consideration to see if some devolution of function to district registries might be feasible. It is a matter that has fair implications and would require a lot of examination.