The Gazette 1940-44

In my address at the last half-yearly meeting I referred to correspondence that passed between the Appointment Commissioners and this Society. As a result of this correspondence the Commis sioners have agreed to regard 60 per cent, in the Society's Final Examination as equivalent to a University Honours Degree for candidates for Junior Administrative offices. The Commission ers will accept a certificate from the Society as sufficient evidence of the percentage secured by a candidate for one of these appointments. I feel that I should refer also to another matter which is mentioned in the Annual Report and which is at present the subject of correspondence between the Secretary and the Department of Local Government. Section 20 of the Neutrality (War Damage to Property Act), 1941, authorises the compulsory acquisition of certain property by district planning authorities, on payment of compensation to the owner. The Act does not contain any specific provision for the payment by the public authority acquiring the property of the owners' costs of tshowing title, and I am informed that the public authorities require title to be fully shown in these cases. The Dublin Corporation have refused to pay the owner's costs of showing title in these cases on the ground that they have been advised by counsel that they have no power to make such payment in the absence of specific authority in the Act authorising the acquisition. In every other case of which I am aware, except one which I shall mention in a moment, it is the invariable practice of the local authorities to pay the owners' costs of making title where his property is taken compulsorily. The exception to which I have referred is the Derelict Sites Act, 1940, in which the Dublin Corporation has refused to pay the costs for a similar reason, viz., that they are not empowered by Statute to do so. By direction of the Council the Secretary wrote to the Secretary of. the Department of Local Government in July last, drawing attention to what are apparently omissions in both these Acts and asking that they should be remedied with as little delay as possible. A reply was received from the Department that the matter was being discussed with the City Law Agent. I am informed that in reply to a question in the Senate yesterday the Minister stated that he was satisfied that the public authorities had full power to pay these costs under existing legislation. It is clear that there is a difference of legal opinion between the Department and the Corporation, 38

for some time, and has given you a detailed account of the activities of this Council during the past year. With your permission, I desire to refer to certain matters set out therein. For some time past, we have constantly been receiving complaints from members about serious delays in the Land Registry. Every member will appreciate how these delays affect the general public in preventing their ordinary transactions being completed promptly. It also very seriously affects our members in their professional relations with their clients who naturally place the responsibility for this unnecessary delay on the Solicitor instead of on a department, with which the ordinary client has no contact and of which he has very little knowledge. On the 2nd July last, the Secretary wrote to the Department of Justice and pointed out the serious inconvenience caused by the lengthy delay in the Registry after documents had been lodged. A reply was received that this question was a subject of correspondence between the Departments of Justice and Finance. Again, on the 18th of last month, the Secretary wrote to the Department of Justice giving a number of instances of delays, and also sent .a copy of this letter to the Registrar of Titles. The Registrar replied stating that the delays were due to lack of sufficient staff to deal with the increasing volume of work in the Land Registry. He added that he had made repeated representations to the Department of Justice and understood that the question of staffing was under consideration by the Department of Finance. We are all agreed that no blame is attachable to the Land Registry Officials who are not alone very efficient, but most courteous, and that the Department of Finance is responsible for the length of time they have allowed this matter to drift. I hope that by directing public attention to such a state of affairs, it will immediately be remedied. It is only right to draw our members attention to the fact that the Registrar states that a great deal of work is thrown on his staff by the careless manner in which some practitioners perform their conveyancing and registration work, leading to much correspondence, queries and rulings refusing registration, much of which would not be necessary if the documents were properly prepared. I trust that all solicitors will endeavour to see that all documents for registration in the Land Registry are properly prepared and so assist the officials in an obviously understaffed office, in carrying out their duties.