Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 30 Jan 2001

Vol. 529 No. 1

Written Answers. - Registration of Title.

Denis Naughten

Question:

1064 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the waiting time for the processing of a land registry dealing in each county; the plans he has to reduce the delays in processing dealings in the Land Registry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1967/01]

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

I am informed by the Registrar of Titles and Deeds that the waiting time for the processing of Land Registry dealings is as set out in the tabular statement below. As the Deputy will appreciate, the length of time taken to complete cases varies depending on a number of things including the complexity of the case, the completeness of the documentation forwarded by solicitors, etc. The volume of business being transacted at any stage would also have a bearing on matters. The Deputy may also wish to note that any cases involving urgency are, in accordance with the customer service policy of the Land Registry, dealt with expeditiously.

The figures shown, in the tabular statement below, for Kildare-Wicklow represent the time frame for any case lodged since the roll out of ITRIS, Integrated Title Registration Information System. I have been informed by the Land Registry that pre-ITRIS cases in these areas are taking approximately two years to complete.

The statistics provided in the second column of the tabular statement, not requiring mapping-queries, represent more than 60% of the total intake of cases by the Land Registry.

Waiting Time (in weeks) for processing

a Land Registry Dealing – 2001

County	Waiting time in weeks for Dealings not requiring mapping/queries	Waiting time in weeks for Dealings requiring mapping/queries
Carlow	16	130
Cavan	10	100
Clare	17	166
Cork	10	104
Donegal	4	109
Dublin	35	104
Galway	20	124
Kerry	6	104
Kildare	2	9
Kilkenny	16	130
Laois	16	104
Leitrim	4	109
Limerick	8	104
Longford	4	109
Louth	10	100
Mayo	24	140
Meath	20	116
Monaghan	10	100
Offaly	16	104
Roscommon	17	166
Sligo	24	140
Tipperary	16	104
Waterford	8	104
Westmeath	20	116
Wexford	16	130
Wicklow	2	9

As the Deputy will be aware, arising out of the current buoyancy in the economy, the intake of applications in the Land Registry and the Registry of Deeds continues to grow at an unprecedented level with each successive year setting new record levels. The total intake of new cases for the year 2000 amounted to 161,844. This represents an increase of 29,485 over the 1999 intake.

In addition to the increase in property transactions, major infrastructural projects undertaken by the bodies responsible for systems and utilities e.g. Bord Gáis, ESB, Coillte, National Roads Authority, Bord na Móna etc. have also placed considerable strain on the Registry's ability to provide essential services. In the circumstances, the staff in the Land Registry have worked very hard to give the best possible service to their customers.

The Deputy will be aware that, in order to address this problem, I received sanction from my colleague, the Minister for Finance, to increase the staffing complement of the Land Registry by 77. The resultant appointments are currently being made following a recruitment drive by the Civil Service Commission which is now beginning to pay dividends.

I can assure the Deputy that every effort is being made by the management and staff of the Land Registry to address the problems which have developed over a period of time, mainly due to the unprecedented increase in the levels of business. The Land Registry management is implementing some proactive measures to help deal with the situation. These include improvements to work flow the training and development of staff, the use of new technology, the launch of an e-commerce service and the computerised data capture of folios and maps.

I am confident that, with the appointment of additional staff and the programme of measures being taken, the situation will improve shortly.