Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 January 2022
537. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide an update on information disclosed to a newspaper (details supplied) with respect to Land Registry mapping errors; and the amount of compensation that has been paid to date. [1643/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Property Registration Authority (PRA) maintains a title register and the Land Registry map is not, except as provided by legislation, conclusive as to boundaries or extent. A specific note to that effect appears on the National Land Register. This has been the position since the inception of the title registration system in 1891.
The registration mapping framework maintained by the PRA is underpinned by its link to Ordnance Survey Ireland topographical data. However, all registrations effected in the PRA are based on the original documents and application map lodged for registration.
The digitisation of the PRA map record in 2005 transformed property registration in Ireland. It also, in the main, revealed rather than caused non-conformities which were already on the original paper-based mapping system. Once online searching became accessible to all, there was an expected and exponential increase in public queries.
The PRA receives ongoing enquiries about mapping issues, and each query brought to its attention is investigated fully. The PRA has established a dedicated and robust process for the ongoing evaluation of all mapping and other queries. Original legal deeds and documents of title (including the original map lodged) are retrieved and reviewed to establish if an actual error arises and its origins. There are statutory provisions governing the correction of any errors identified, depending on whether the origins of the error are internal to the PRA or due to an issue arising externally.
Digitisation of the PRA Map was completed in 2010 and, to date, compensation payments made under Section 120 of the Registration of Title Act 1964, which specifically relate to digital mapping errors, amount to €59,615.
