asked the Minister for Justice if he will state (a) the number of areas in which the position and duties of under-sheriff and probate officer have been merged with those of county registrar; (b) the total saving to the Exchequer in salaries in each area as a result of the amalgamation; (c) the increase in salary or expenses allowed to the county registrars concerned as a result of the additional duties imposed upon them; (d) the number of additional staff (if any) employed as a result of the amalgamation either locally or in central offices, and (e) the cost to the Exchequer of the additional staff.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Under-Sheriffs and Probate Officers.
Mr. Boland
The duties of under-sheriff have been taken over by the county registrar pursuant to Section 54 of the Court Officers Act, 1926, in all areas except one county borough and five counties.
As regards district probate registries, there are at present seven such registries and the duties of district registrar in five of them are being performed by county registrars.
As a result of these arrangements, local authorities which were formerly liable to pay half the salary of the under-sheriff have been relieved of that charge and the Exchequer also has benefited considerably. The extent of the latter benefit and the details of the salaries and staff may be seen by an examination of the relative items in the Estimates for the current year as compared with previous years. It will take some time to extract these in the form of a separate statement, but I shall have this done and the result will be communicated to the Deputy.