Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 16 February 2005
125 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason there are such long delays in processing cases through the Land Registry office; if he has plans to expedite the process (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5051/05]
View answerThe Land Registry processes a range of application types and provides a wide variety of services to its customers. The Deputy will be aware that in recent years the volume of demand for these services, consistent with the buoyancy in the economy, has grown considerably. The Deputy will be interested to note that, in the case of the vast majority of services provided by the Land Registry, no delays are encountered.
In relation to Land Registry dealings, the length of time taken by the Land Registry to complete cases is dependent on a number of factors, including the complexity of the case, the requirement for the investigation of title, the completeness of the documentation submitted, the volume of business being transacted, the level of resources available at any particular time and any mapping requirements. The availability of the Land Registry's records in electronic format would also have a bearing on the length of time taken. Where a case is urgent and this is brought to the attention of the Land Registry office, in accordance with its customer service policy, the matter is dealt with expeditiously.
In relation to improvements in the Land Registry, I am sure the Deputy will be aware of the investment that has been made in recent years by the Government in the development of the integrated title registration information system, ITRIS, the electronic access service, EAS, the document imaging project and most recently, the digital mapping project, which is currently at tender stage.
In addition, as part of its business planning and customer service strategies, surveys to ascertain the priorities of customers were undertaken in 2001 and again in 2004. The results of these surveys informed and continue to assist the Land Registry in improving the delivery of services.
In the survey undertaken in 2001 customers identified the ready availability of folios and filed plan maps for inspection and the availability of certified copies of these documents as their main priority. At that time difficulties were being encountered in providing these services. Considerable efforts were focused on meeting this identified demand and now, with the success of the new systems, all folios and filed plan maps together with the appropriate names indices are available for inspection on-line and no delays are encountered. By way of example: 769,058 electronic services were availed of by customers during 2004 — 86% of these were provided instantly; 219,537 certified copy folios and filed plans were issued to customers — of these more than 80% issued within 24 hours of the application being received; and 116,712 land certificates, certificates of charge and official map searches were issued. The vast majority were issued within three days of receipt of the application.
The other major category of case handled by the Land Registry is the area of registrations. This is the most demanding in terms of resources and has been directly affected by the increased volumes in recent years. Nevertheless considerable progress has also been made in this area. During 2004 significant progress was made in increasing outputs to match intake and, despite the ever increasing intake of work, the registry achieved even higher increases in output. The following table outlines the increases in intake and output in recent years that the Land Registry has encountered.
|
Year |
Intake |
Output |
|
2000 |
162,650 |
105,309 |
|
2001 |
156,379 |
146,554 |
|
2002 |
152,898 |
151,717 |
|
2003 |
184,585 |
171,601 |
|
2004 |
197,534 |
201,308 |
The output figures have shown a constant upward trend and 2004 was the first year during this period where a surplus of output over intake was achieved. During January 2005 a record level of output for the month was achieved and a surplus of 3,044 cases were completed which augurs very well for the year ahead.
In 2003 a facility to make an application for registration on-line was introduced and this was further enhanced during 2004. Where this option is availed of faster turnaround times are achieved than by applying through the traditional methods. During January 2005 over 22% of applications for registration were lodged using this facility.
