Vol. 396 No. 3
5 Mr. Flanagan asked the Minister for Justice, having regard to the content of the recently published annual report of the Land Registry and Registry of Deeds, if he will accept that delays in both registries are chronic and unacceptable; and if he will outline positive proposals to address these matters.
As a preliminary matter I must point out that in accordance with normal procedures the annual report in question has not been published and I can only conclude that it has come into the Deputy's possession improperly. As I indicated to this House in the course of the debate on the Private Members' motion on 14 November last, I am concerned at the level of delays in the service being provided by the Land Registry and Registry of Deeds. These delays are due mainly to an increase in the intake of work and a shortage of staff. Indeed, there has been an increase of 18.7 per cent in 1989 over 1988 in applications which comprise the bulk of Land Registry work.
Shortly after taking up office I initiated a general review of the operations of the registries and while I have not completed my review I have taken some steps to alleviate the situation. I have obtained sanction for an additional 35 staff for the Land Registry in 1990. Eleven of these have already been recruited and taken up duty. Every effort is being made to have the remaining staff recruited as quickly as possible. As a short term measure, some senior staff have been diverted from other work to help deal with the kind of cases where the worst delays are occurring.
I have also made arrangements for the filling of the post of Registrar of Deeds and Titles and I have obtained agreement from the Minister for Finance for the appointment of a number of staff at senior level.
In addition, I have provided for an increase in computerisation expenditure of the order of 32 per cent over 1989. A programme of computerisation of the abstracts in the Registry of Deeds will start early this year and the computerisation programme in the Land Registry, which is already well under way, will be extended further.
The measures I have outlined are the initial steps which I have taken in tackling the problem of delays in the Land Registry and Registry of Deeds. I am continuing to review the operations of the registries and I will take whatever steps are necessary to resolve the problems there.
The Minister has not come to grips with this problem. Is he aware of the fact that the average delay has increased since the Minister took office last July? Indeed, there is an average delay of eight and a half months in a simple dealing. Will the Minister accept that the average delay for section 49 dealings is 20 months? Will he accept that the average delay in the case of Land Commission registrations is six and a half years? Is the Minister aware that the total arrears of dealings increased from 32,332 at the end of 1988 to a staggering 51,145 at the end of 1989? In spite of what the Minister said about staffing, will he accept the fact that due to intervening losses the number of staff serving in the registry at the end of December was 413——
This is a very long question, the Deputy seems to be imparting a lot of information instead of seeking it.
It is a very important matter——
The Deputy made his point, there is a further question to be dealt with.
The increased staffing to which the Minister referred is less than the pre-embargo figures——
Deputy Flanagan has clearly embarked upon a speech, which is totally out of order.
What action will the Minister take to solve the problem? Will he consider allocating extra finances and resources in view of the upturn in the economy to which he referred——
Please, Deputy.
The Deputy referred to numbers and one of the problems in relation to the backlog is that there has been an 18.7 per cent increase in 1989 over 1988 in dealing applications. However, I share the Deputy's concern and I have said this in the House in relation to the backlog. Everything that can be done is being done. The authorised staff level on 23 February 1990 was 519. I must admit that the number is not at that level, we are recruiting but we have not reached the figure of 519, the figure in 1986. From all the examinations I have carried out on this matter, including visits to the registry, my own feeling is that a programme of computerisation will have to be speeded up to come to grips with the backlog, otherwise it will be an ongoing problem. It is not just the numbers of staff, it is a question of work practices and systems. The filling of the post of Registrar of Deeds and Titles will improve the situation from a management point of view. As I said, I share the Deputy's concern in relation to the backlog because it is affecting development in farming and other areas.
Deputy Flanagan rose.
A final question, Deputy.
In the light of the 52,000 dealings to which I referred, is the Minister prepared to recommend a general amnesty in the Land Registry for the safe passage of all dealings which have been lodged, especially those which have been there for the past six or eight years?
That could not be done because many of the dealings are under query. About 8,200 of the backlog in dealings are subject to query by solicitors as they are found to be incorrect when they reach the Land Registry. An amnesty would further exacerbate an already difficult situation. I appreciate that the Deputy's proposal is made in good faith, but it is not feasible.
The time available for dealing with Priority Questions is now exhausted and we proceed to other questions.
