Vol. 495 No. 7
604 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the plans, if any, he has to deal with the continuing problems that are manifest in the area of the registration of enduring powers of attorney, in particular the very large backlog that appears to have developed in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21665/98]
605 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the average time taken to process an order for enduring power of attorney from initial application to final registration of the order; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21666/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 604 and 605 together.
I am informed that there are currently no delays in processing applications for registration of enduring powers of attorney. There had been a delay of some months in processing these applications. However, over the past six weeks or so priority has been given to this area of work at the Office of Wards of Court and the backlog has been eliminated.
I should mention that the registration of enduring powers of attorney is a comparatively recent procedure with which, I am informed, many legal practitioners are not yet familiar. This has resulted in a large number of applications having to be returned under query to solicitors.
