Written Answers. - Land Registry Queries.
Seán Barrett
Ceist:
191
Mr. S. Barrett
asked the
Minister for Justice
if he will outline in relation to the Land Registry office (1) the backlog of cases to be dealt with for each of the past six months, (2) the period of time it takes to transfer a site (a) without mapping difficulties and (b) with mapping difficulties, (3) the number of land commission vestings which are in arrears and the length of time it takes to complete such vestings, (4) the number of dealings lodged for each of the past three years, (5) the number of applications for title maps which were made for each of the past three years, (6) staffing levels for each of the past six years, (7) the number of staff who were transferred to the registry in 1991, (8) the cost of overtime payments in each of the past three years, (9) the level of contribution to the Exchequer through fees and other sources of income over the past three years and (10) the steps which have been taken to introduce computerisation and the effect of such steps.
I am informed by the Registrar of Titles and Deeds that the following is the information requested by the Deputy:
(1) The total arrears of cases outstanding at the end of each of the last six months for which records are available was: May, 50,038; June, 50,521; July, 51,057; August, 50,726; September, 50,946; and October, 50,414.
(2) Mapping difficulties as such are not a major contributor to delays in effecting transfers. The major delay factors include the procedures to be followed and queries to be made when effecting sub-division and the backlog of applications on hand. Transfers not requiring sub-division and for which no queries arise are on average processed in four to five weeks. Other cases where subdivision is involved and where the Land Registry have to issue queries before the application can be processed can take up to 10 months, on average.
(3) The total number of Land Commission vestings awaiting completion at the end of October 1991 was 11,384. As the date of registration is determined by the date of vesting by the Land Commission prior to lodgment in the Land Registry, such cases are not required to be given the priority accorded to other dealings. However, when urgent cases arise, these are expedited.
(4) The number of dealing lodged from 1989 to 1991 is as follows: 1989, 94,760; 1990, 96,249; and 1991, 76,177 (provisional to end of October).
(5) The number of applications made for file plans from 1989 to 1991 is as follows: 1989, 77,489; 1990, 82,211; and 1991, 71,110 (provisional to end of October).
(6) The number of staff employed in the registries at the end of each of the past five years is as follows: 1986, 500; 1987, 490; 1988, 449; 1989, 473½; and 1990, 503½. At the end of November 1991 the figure was 519. The above figures include "job-sharers".
(7) Thirty-six heads of staff were assigned to the Land Registry in 1991.
(8) The cost of overtime in the registries for the years 1989, 1990 and 1991 was: 1989, £234,321; 1990, £298,894; and 1991, £313,000 (provisional to end of October).
(9) The following amounts of fees were received in the Land Registry and Registry of Deeds in the years 1989, 1990 and 1991: 1989, £10,128,908; 1990, £9,690,445; and 1991, £7,916,740 (provisional to end of October).
(10) The Land Registry commenced a programme of computerisation in 1982. To date, only the folios in the Dublin areas have been computerised and this has led to a considerable improvement in the speed of response to applications for copy folios and copy file plans. Folios created in the western region are also being put on computer as dealings are processed. A programme of computerising Registry of Deeds Abstracts of Memorials commenced in late 1990.
A firm of management consultants was commissioned by the Registrar of Titles and Deeds in 1990 to produce a strategic plan to link the organisation structure and technology infrastructure to the business goals and objectives of the Land Registry and Registry of Deeds. The consultants' recommendations were submitted to me in February 1991 and I have approved the implementation over a five year period of the information systems plan recommended by them. The Land Registry is currently engaged in the implementation of a number of elements of the strategic plan. External consultants have also been engaged to assist in the preparation of a data model of the Land Registry and Registry of Deeds, as a prelude to further computer systems development.
