Vol. 500 No. 1
278 Mr. O'Malley asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the local Land Registry Office in Limerick has been closed for almost 12 months due to shortage of staff; the plans, if any, he has to appoint staff to the office; and whether he will fulfil his obligations under the Registration of Title Acts, 1964 and 1997 to provide local facilities for persons wishing to use the office. [3309/99]
I am aware that, due to a staff shortage, the local Land Registry Office attached to the Circuit Court Office in Limerick was closed temporarily on 6 April 1998.
A vacancy in this office arose in December 1997 which, for reasons outside its control, my Department found itself unable to fill. It subsequently proved impossible to keep the records there up to date. I informed the House in reply to Parliamentary Question No. 283 of 6 May 1998 that as these records are relied upon by legal practitioners engaged in the conveyancing of property for clients, it was felt that liability for potential loss might be incurred because of failure to keep the records up to date. Accordingly, the county registrar decided to close the Land Registry Office.
A temporary appointment was made to this office in June 1998. The person appointed has since been employed on clearing the arrears situation and will continue until such time as the ongoing efforts to make a permanent appointment can be successfully concluded. In the meantime, I am pleased to inform the Deputy that progress on bringing the records up to date has been such that the office reopened on 3 February 1999 for inspection of folios and indices and I am informed by the county registrar that the office will be in a posiiton to offer a full service as formerly, including copy folios, later this month.
