I refer the Deputy to my replies to Question No. 756 of 29 September 1999, Question No. 86 of 12 October 1999, Questions Nos. 321 and 322 of 19 October 1999 and Question No. 540 of 2 November 1999,
As no doubt the Deputy will be aware, arising out of the buoyancy in the economy and the current high level of activity in the housing market the number of dealings being lodged with, and the level of business being transacted by, the Land Registry has been increasing steadily for some years now and has been subject to unprecedented increases in recent years.
In this light I am pleased to be able to report that significant efficiencies have been generated by the registries. For example, overall output of applications for registration has increased by 20 per cent. This is a significant achievement and I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the staff of the Land Registry and Registry of Deeds for their efforts in this regard.
I have indicated that my Department has written to the Department of Finance making a strong case for the allocation of additional staff to deal with the increase in the level of business in the Land Registry. Urgent discussions have been held between the two Departments in relation to this issue and we are awaiting the response of the Department of Finance in this regard.
On the Deputy's query in relation to the time taken to complete a dealing, I am informed by the Registrar of Titles that this can depend on many different factors such as the accuracy of the documents lodged by the applicant-applicant's solicitor, the complexity of the case, the level and number of the queries raised in relation to the applicant's right to registration, the time taken by the applicant-applicant's solicitor to reply and the number of dealings lodged in the Land Registry.
