asked the Minister for Justice if he is aware that under the Land Registration Fees (No. 2) Order, 1966 the fee for a search made in the Land Registry by telegram or telephone under Rule 196 of the Land Registration Rules, 1966 has been increased from 2/6 to £1 10s, thus adding to the already heavy fees payable under the Land Registry Acts; and, if so, if he will have the said order amended to substantially reduce the fee.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Land Registry Fees.
32.
No increase in a Land Registry search fee such as that alleged by the Deputy has, in fact, occurred. The fee of £1 10s referred to is in respect of an official search, made on the basis of an application by telegram or telephone, that is to say, an authorised and authoritative search carried out by officials of the Land Registry, the result of which is confirmed in writing by the Registry and the reliability of which is guaranteed by the State. The fee for an unofficial or personal search made by an applicant himself is 2/6, but at no time in recent years has the fee for any official search been as low as this figure.
However, there is a long-standing and informal arrangement in the Central Office of the Land Registry and in some, but not all, of the local offices whereby solicitors are facilitated by having their telephone inquiries treated as personal searches, for which the fee of 2/6 is charged. In such cases no written confirmation of the result of the search is sent by the Registry and, in the event of error in such a search, no claim against the Compensation Fund can be entertained. The search is in no sense an official search the reliability of which is guaranteed: and the practice in the Central Office, and in some of the local offices, has no statutory authority to sustain it. I am having the position in regard to these non-official searches fully examined.
Questions Nos. 33 and 34 postponed.