asked the Minister for Justice if he will state whether the inquiry, promised by him on 4th December, 1929, into the staffing of the Registry of Deeds has been held, and, if so, what action has been taken or is intended as a result of such inquiry.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Registry of Deeds Staff.
The examination of the duties of clerical officers in the Registry of Deeds and in particular of the duties of officers engaged in making searches, referred to in the reply given by me on the 4th December last, has been made. The material obtained as a result of the examination is at present under consideration in my Department. Departmental proposals arising out of this consideration will soon be ready for formulation.
asked the Minister for Justice if he will state whether the question of remuneration for searching by the staff at the Registry of Deeds has been settled, and whether civil servants of the clerical grade in that Department have been ordered, under threat of suspension, to make and sign searches, and whether it has been decided that such work comes within the duties of the clerical grade, and, if so, when such decision was come to and by whom, and why executive officers on salary maximum of £400 (four hundred pounds) are performing such duties, and why have clerical officers been specially certified by the Head of the Department as capable of doing the highest work of their class—thus enabling them to pass their efficiency bar—though they have not even been put on this work of searching.
The question of remuneration for searching by the staff in the Registry of Deeds has been dealt with in my answer to the Deputy's preceding question. Clerical officers who asked to be relieved from the duty of searching were informed in the usual official way that searching was part of the work of the Registry of Deeds which had been graded as appropriate to the clerical grade, that they could not be relieved of the duties assigned to them and to refuse to discharge the duties of their grade would involve their suspension. The duties in the Searching Branch of the Registry of Deeds were formerly assigned to officers of the class then known as Second Division Clerks. The Registry of Deeds was re-organised in 1921 by the British Treasury before the transfer of Government and in that re-organisation the duties in the Searching Branch were graded as appropriate to the clerical grade. The duties of searching are the most important of the clerical duties in the Registry of Deeds and executive officers formerly Second Division Clerks who have been trained for the work are, so far as they are still available, so employed. There is not yet a sufficient number of clerical officers trained for the work. Of course, when the office was re-organised the intention was that clerical officers should be gradually trained. Clerical officers when efficient have been and will be certified by the Head of the office as capable of doing the highest work of their grade. An officer's efficiency in a particular grade can be judged without necessarily submitting him to a test in every conceivable kind of duty that he may be called upon to perform in virtue of his grade.
Arising out of the Minister's reply, why does he state that the most important duty of the staff at King's Inns is to do searching work?
"The most important duties." I think these were the Minister's words.
Not of the whole staff.
I think if the Minister reads his reply again he will find the words "most important duties" in it.
Of the clerical grade.
Yes, but still officers can be promoted as being thoroughly efficient without having done any searching work. I do not think that the two statements are consistent.
The Deputy will understand that certain types of officers are kept on certain types of work. If a man is good at a certain kind of work you do not shift him to do another kind of work in which he is not experienced.