asked the Minister for Justice the reason the registration of property by the Land Registry is at present taking from 18 months to two years; if he is aware of the extreme hardship this causes, in particular to young couples on bridging finance; and if he will make immediate arrangements to make the necessary staff and structural changes to enable the Land Registry to deal with applications for registration in an efficient manner.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Registration of Property.
12.
The current rate of lodgment of applications for registration of title in the Land Registry is approximately 87,000 annually. Of these, about 80,000, or 92 per cent, are transactions in respect of land already registered. The average delay at present in finalising such applications is slightly less than five months.
Delays of the order stated by the Deputy are occurring in the area of first registration including applications for establishment of title acquired by possession, commonly known as "squatters' title" or Section 49 applications. This category of applications accounts for only about 5 per cent in volume of the total number of applications lodged annually in the registry. They are usually complex applications from the legal point of view and often involve protracted correspondence with solicitors. While there are, accordingly, inbuilt delays in dealing with these applications, I am nevertheless conscious that the delays are excessive in many cases. For that reason, steps are being taken, within the limitations imposed by the staffing restrictions affecting the Civil Service generally, which will have the effect of reducing delays in the area of first registration. These steps involve staff restructuring and redistribution of work.
As a matter of policy the Land Registry give priority to any application in respect of which it is brought to their attention that exceptional conditions of hardship, such as bridging finance, exist.
Will the Minister indicate the length of time taken for first registration? Will he consider putting the Land Registry on a more commercial footing so that people who want to have their registrations dealt with quickly can pay for this service, as the vast majority are prepared to do? This would speed up the work of the Land Registry. I do not agree it is taking only five months, but even that delay is too long when people are on bridging finance or in urgent need of the registration.
As I have indicated, delays of the order mentioned by the Deputy, that is, 18 months to two years, do occur. I am confirming that. I appreciate his suggestion that we should treat the registry operation more in the nature of a commercial operation. There is a requirement that the Land Registry should by and large cover their costs, which is the case at the moment. There would be a very substantial problem, and possibly some legal complaint, if the Land Registry were to do substantially more than that, because of the nature of the office itself and the service it gives. The thought which has occurred to the Deputy is one which occurred to me, particularly when I was carrying out other functions which I had the privilege of doing until earlier this year. The average delay in finalising the 92 per cent of ordinary applications is slightly less than five months. That would obviously mean that some cases take longer but other cases are dealt with more quickly.
I put it to the Minister that there is widespread frustration among solicitors and their clients. Will the Minister take a new look at the position in the Land Registry with a view to speeding up the process and ending that frustration?
I have already pointed out that I am taking a number of steps, including staff restructuring and the redistribution of work which will have the effect of reducing delays.
I wish to raise on the Adjournment the subject matter of Question No. 19.
I will communicate with the Deputy.