Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 9 Oct 2001

Vol. 541 No. 4

Written Answers. - Land Registry.

Paul McGrath

Question:

408 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the waiting time for the processing of a land registry dealing in each county; the plans he has to reduce the delays in processing dealings in the Land Registry office; the further plans he has to employ additional staff to clear the backlog; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22891/01]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

I am informed by the Registrar of Titles that the waiting times for the processing of land registry dealings is as set out in the following tabular statement. As the Deputy will appreciate the length of time taken to complete cases varies depending on a number of factors, including the complexity of the case and the completeness of the documentation forwarded by the solicitors. The volume of business being transacted at any stage would also have a bearing on matters. The Deputy may also wish to note that any cases involving urgency are, in accordance with the customer service policy of the Land Registry, dealt with expeditiously.

I can inform the Deputy that the ITRIS, integrated title registration information system, is now operational in nine counties which represent over 60% of all dealings lodged. The ITRIS will be extended to all counties by the end of 2002. I also point out to the Deputy that the statistics provided in the first column of the tabular statement, "not requiring subdivision/creation of a new title", represent almost 70% of the total intake of cases by the Land Registry.

Waiting time (in weeks) for processing a Land Registry dealing, 2001.

County	Waiting time in weeksfor dealings notrequiring subdivision/creating of a new title	Waiting time in weeksfor dealings requiringsubdivision/creation ofa new title
Carlow	14	160
Cavan	10	87
Clare	6	150
Cork	3	6*
Donegal	12	128
Dublin	2	75
Galway	10	190
Kerry	5	104
Kildare	4	14*
Kilkenny	14	160
Laois	16	156
Leitrim	12	128
Limerick	8	104
Longford	12	128
Louth	10	87
Mayo	7	194
Meath	20	130
Monaghan	10	87
Offaly	16	156
Roscommon	6	150
Sligo	7	194
Tipperary	16	156
Waterford	2	104
Westmeath	20	130
Wexford	14	160
Wicklow	4	14*

*The figures shown for Kildare, Wicklow and Cork represent the time frame for any case lodged since the roll out of ITRIS. I have been informed by the Land Registry that pre-ITRIS cases in these areas are taking approximately 22 months to complete in Kildare and Wicklow and 14 months in Cork. As the Deputy will be aware, arising out of the increased activity in the property market, the intake of applications in the Land Registry and the Registry of Deeds has grown to an unprecedented level with each successive year setting new record levels. From current figures available, it appears that the intake of applications for 2001 will be approximately 160,000. The tabular statement below sets out the intake and output in the registries since 1993.

Year	Intake	Output
1993	91,060	94,295
1994	103,145	97,323
1995	105,290	104,471
1996	114,024	119,395
1997	120,301	121,803
1998	123,066	113,108
1999	132,999	98,479
2000	162,650	105,309

The Deputy will be aware that last year, in order to address the increasing intake of applications, I received sanction from my colleague, the Minister for Finance, to increase the staffing complement of the Land Registry by 77. Most of these appointments were made during the past year and the training of the new staff is now beginning to pay dividends. Already this year, to the end of September, over 112,000 dealings have been completed representing an increase in output for the same period of almost 47% over year 2000.

I also inform the Deputy that I have recently received sanction for a further 19 temporary posts and a recruitment drive is now under way. I assure the Deputy that every effort is being made by the management and staff of the Land Registry to address the problems which have developed over a period of time, mainly due to the unprecedented increase in the levels of business. The Land Registry management is implementing some proactive measures to help deal with the situation, including improvements to workflow, the training and development of staff, the use of new technology, the launch of an e-commerce service and the computerised data capture of folios and maps. I am confident that, with the appointment of additional staff and the programme of measures being taken, the situation will continue to improve.