Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 November 2023
786. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Justice if she agrees that in relation to the sale of a home, houses where a grant of probate is not in place should not be advertised for sale; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48672/23]
View answer863. Deputy Francis Noel Duffy asked the Minister for Justice her views on the practice of properties being advertised for sale where probate has not been granted, leading to long delays for purchasers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48699/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 786 and 863 together.
Preventing the advertising for sale of properties prior to the granting of probate could in itself add undue delay to the process of selling properties by executors. The sale of properties can involve a series of steps usually starting with a decision to sell, the appointment of an estate agent or auctioneer, a non-binding agreement to purchase (generally known as going “sale agreed”). This is typically followed by the investigation of title where the seller’s solicitor provides detailed evidence of title to buyer’s solicitor, who checks it and raises detailed queries for reply by seller’s solicitors. Since the introduction of the PCIT (Pre-contract investigation of title) process in recent years, checks on title are concentrated in this stage: formerly, they were mainly post-contract. There are, however, further post-contract checks.
Requiring the granting of probate in relevant cases prior to advertising a sale would add a fixed constraint to this process that would prevent movement on other aspects of the process. As the granting of probate can be straightforward in most cases, it is difficult to see how this constraint would be of overall benefit to the process of transferring properties. It is important to emphasise that as Minister for Justice, I have no role in the exercise of Probate functions. The Probate Office is an office of the High Court, and management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service and the Judiciary, which are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998 and given the separation of powers in the Constitution. Probate functions are also carried out by County Registrars at District Probate Registries in 14 provincial court offices. The Courts Service has a dedicated email address for the provision of information to members of the Houses of the Oireachtas at: oireachtasenquiries@courts.ie. I can, however, assure the Deputy that every effort is made by the Courts Service to ensure that probate services are adequately supported with staff, training and other resources and that the public are assisted in dealing with what can be a complex and sensitive matter.
The Courts Service is currently implementing a 10-year programme of modernisation of the Courts system. An eProbate project has been identified as part of the civil law modernisation workstream of this programme and an initial budget has recently been allocated to the Courts Service to facilitate the commencement of the project. I have further secured an additional funding allocation for the Courts Service as part of Budget 2024 to facilitate the delivery of eProbate in 2024. At the same time, the Courts Service is aware of its need to reduce waiting times while the eProbate project is under way. In this regard, it has prioritised the recruitment of additional staff to help in this task. It is envisaged that eProbate will include a single point of contact for all applications for Probate in the State. In addition, one of the main reasons for delays is the number of invalid applications received in the Probate Office. It is intended that as part of the development of the new system, the application process will be simplified for users and there will be reduced opportunities for errors, thereby speeding up the process. In addition, by reducing the number of invalid applications, the development of the new system will allow staff resources to be better utilised in processing other applications for the benefit of the public.
