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Land Issues

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 November 2021

Tuesday, 2 November 2021

Ceisteanna (385)

Thomas Pringle

Ceist:

385. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on discrepancies between the Land Registry maps and the TMI technology which digitised them with particular reference to providing the protocol of digitalisation practices that was implemented in this period; the persons or body that wrote same; if it was peer reviewed; if contemporary records are kept; if this information will be made available to the public; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52786/21]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I am informed by the Property Registration Authority (PRA) that under its Digital Mapping Project (2005-2010), the Land Registry plans and boundaries were transferred from the paper maps to the digital map. This digitisation, carried out in accordance with the guidelines set out in the PRA Digitisation Protocol Document, involved moving away from an increasingly deteriorating paper map system to providing access to accurate and consistent digital mapping, thereby resulting in a more dynamic and flexible organisation that was better placed to fulfil its strategic business objectives. Prior to its commencement, the PRA Digital Mapping Project was validated by eminent International mapping/land administration experts and shown to be fit for purpose.

The registration mapping framework maintained by the PRA has been underpinned by its link to Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSi) topographical data since the establishment of the Land Registry in 1892. The OSi base map did not, in any way, contribute to digitisation issues.

It should be noted that the Digital Mapping Project was much more than just a matter of transferring the registered land parcels from a paper map record to a digital map record. Some of the factors that contributed to the complexity of the challenges associated with the project were:

- moving all registrations from the now defunct County Series and Irish Grid map projections to the latest Irish Transverse Mercator map projection;

- that development schemes mapped on the PRA paper-based record were found to be at variance with the more accurate 'as built' layout presented by OSi;

- the transferring registrations, from Western seaboard counties, which were, up until the Digital Mapping Project, predominantly mapped on 1/10560 or 6” OSi mapping, had not benefited from any revisions for decades;

- deciphering map data on old Land Registry paper maps, some of which were 100 years old; and

- deciphering map data on badly damaged Land Registry paper maps.

The Digitisation Protocol was written by the PRA and underwent a robust governance process, extensive engagement with key stakeholders and customers and supported by OSi. The protocol is available on the PRA’s website at the following link: www.prai.ie/digitisation-protocol/

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