Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 21 Apr 1998

Vol. 489 No. 6

Written Answers. - Registration of Title.

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

637 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the action, if any, he proposes to take to ensure a more speedy process of land registration dealings through the Land Registry Office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9508/98]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

The land registry office has experienced an enormous increase in activity between the years 1991 and 1997. During this time the percentage increase in intake of applications for registration of dealings, the core business of the office, has been 37 per cent. The increase in applications over all categories of service provided by the land registry, including dealings, has been 41 per cent. The Deputy will appreciate that the recent buoyancy in the property market has led to an ever increasing demand on the services of the office. Every year since 1994 has seen an increase in the number of applications for registration. In 1996 the increase was 7.8 per cent followed by an increase of 5.5 per cent for 1997.

Notwithstanding this increase, the registry has increased its throughput yearly, resulting in a reduction of the arrears in the registry since 1991, dramatically improved productivity and an improvement in customer service and satisfaction. The statistics for the last five years, set out in the following tabular statement bears evidence to this improvement:

	Intake	Output	Live Arrear*	Average Processing Time
1993	91,060	94,295	29,780	3.8 months
1994	103,145	97,323	35,503	4.4 months
1995	105,290	104,471	37,214	4.3 months
1996	114,024	119,395	30,518	3.1 months
1997	120,301	121,803	29,284	2.9 months

* Live arrear is the total arrears of application in the Land Registry less the number of applications awaiting replies from Solicitors.

The Deputy will note from the figures quoted that despite the significant increases being experienced, the rate of increase in output has exceeded that of intake in three of the last five years. The Deputy will also note that the average time taken to process an application has decreased from 3.8 months in 1993 to 2.9 months in 1997.

My Department will continue to monitor the situation and consult with the management of the land registry to ensure that this high level of throughput is maintained.