asked the Minister for Justice the number of applications received in 1985 by the Land Registry office for the purchase of ground rent under the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No. 2) Act, 1978; and the number of applications outstanding for finalisation on 31 December last.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Ground Rent Purchase.
9.
(Limerick East): The number of applications received by the Land Registry office in 1985 for the purchase of ground rent under the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No. 2) Act, 1978 was 1,703.
The number of applications outstanding for finalisation on 31 December, 1985 was 12,581.
Is the Minister concerned at the extent of the chaos prevailing in the Land Registry office? Indeed, from the figures he has just quoted it would appear that the numbers of applications are eight to nine years approximately in arrears. Will the Minister tell the House the number of vacancies there are at present in the Land Registry office?
(Limerick East): The Deputy's question is about one aspect of the Land Registry office work, that is the section which deals with the purchase of ground rents under the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No. 2) Act, 1978. If the Deputy wants information about other aspects of the work of the Land Registry office I will be very pleased to give it to him but I will have to get notice of such questions so that I will have a proper brief on them. On the question of the ground rents, there was a decrease of 71.6 per cent in the intake of applications in 1985 compared with 1984. Probably the House will remember that we introduced a Bill extending the scope of the original Bill which resulted in an enormous influx of applications. For example, in 1982 there were 6,708 applications. Then, when we extended the provisions of the original Bill in 1983, there were 19,378 applications. Last year those applications were down to 1,703. The backlog is being gone through very quickly. Probably the Deputy is also aware that under the Act priority is given to any people who are selling their houses. They can establish their freehold interest in a couple of weeks. There is no imposition on anybody normally buying out a round rent and remaining in a house. It is just a matter of waiting for the thing to be processed. It presents such people with no difficulty whatsoever.
I am very disappointed that the Minister has not answered my question in relation to the number of vacancies. I am more than surprised he does not have that information. I understand that the reason for the huge backlog of outstanding applications is insufficient staff to deal with them. The fact that during 1985 the number of applications received was 1,703 and that there are 12,000 outstanding speaks for itself. Will the Minister give an undertaking, that some action will be taken as far as staffing is concerned because the Land Registry office is self-financing? Will the Minister examine the situation and indicate whether he is prepared to authorise the deployment of additional staff to deal with outstanding applications?
(Limerick East): In his supplementary the Deputy asked me about the general work of the Land Registry office. He has not posed that question in his original question. If he wants information on other areas of Land Registry work I am prepared to give it to him——
It is self-financing.
(Limerick East): If he is asking about the situation in the ground rents section, the situation is that the authorised staffing in the ground rents section, when the scheme came into operation in 1978, was 12. There are two examiners of title, two executive officers, two staff officers, two clerical officers and four clerical assistants. In spite of the embargo, staffing has been maintained consistently at 12 and has been augmented temporarily from time to time, particularly in times of increased pressure such as in 1983, and is continuing. We had 12 in 1978 and that has been maintained. At present there are 14 working in the office, so the embargo is not affecting the work there at all. Extra staff are being provided and the backlog will be cleared.
As Deputy Brady said, it is self-financing.
Would the Minister give the House the average length of time it takes to have an application for the purchase of a ground rent processed through the Land Registry office?
(Limerick East): The average delay at the end of 1985 was one year, where there was consent, and three years where arbitration was required.
Does the Minister not consider that a waiting period of three years is too long and should be substantially reduced?
(Limerick East): Where the arbitration process causes delays other than those that can be solved by providing any extra staff, it is the nature of the process that causes the delay. But in the normal course of events the delay is at present 12 months. That will be reduced enormously because the office staff are working their way through the enormous number of applications that were submitted in 1983 and that caused the problem. The waiting period is being drastically cut back and, by the end of the year, it should be down to a number of months.
Would the Minister not agree that the overall operation of the Land Registry office is self-financing and that the imposition of an embargo on a profit making aspect of the State's administration is absolute nonsense?
(Limerick East): The overall work of the Land Registry office is self-financing. But there is a particular problem in an area where applications for a particular service come in unevently, for example, if in one year there are 20,000 applications submitted and two years later that figure drops to 1,700. It is not sustainable that people should be given permanent pensionable jobs to deal with a temporary problem. Extra temporary staff have been provided to deal with the temporary problem.
But it is a profit making operation.
(Limerick East): It could be profit making for two years while there was work to be done but then it could be loss making for the next 38 while there was no work to be done.
In view of the fact that the Minister concedes that the Land Registry office is self-financing and will continue to be so, will be give the House an assurance that the requisite number of staff will be employed to deal with the backlog of applications, thereby bringing the position up-to-date?
(Limerick East): I have already answered that for Deputy Lenihan.