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solicitor who registered the mortgage in the Registry of
Deeds instead of the Land Registry. All the mortgages
are judgment mortgages. The Council on a report from
a committee stated that in their opinion the solicitor
for the vendor is not entitled to disclose the Registry of
Deeds mortgage which does not appear to affect the
title without first obtaining the permission of the client.
Payment of Land Registry fees
A letter was received from the Department of Justice
stating that the Minister proposes that in future fees
payable to the Land Registry will be accepted in cash
by means of money order, postal order or cheque drawn
to the order of the Land Registry or alternatively Land
Registry stamp. A detailed system is at present being
worked out which will be brought into operation as
soon as possible.
Department of Social Welfare—fees payable to
solicitors
The Secretary on receipt of a letter from members
wrote to the Department drawing attention to the
inadequacy of the fee of £2.10 for attendance by a
solicitor on behalf of a client on a Social Welfare
application. It was stated that these applications may
last for periods between half an hour and an hour. A
reply from the Department is awaited. As far as it is
known the fee has never been reviewed. The Council
on a report from a committee stated that the fee should
be increased to at least £5.25. The committee will con-
sider the matter further when a reply is received from
the Department of Social Welfare.
Estate Duty Office—delays
Members complained about delays in making Estate
Duty assessments. Some thought that Dublin practi-
tioners received priority over country practitioners of
having their assessments made on the spot over the
counter. The correspondence received from the Estate
Duty Office pointed out that the office has always been
a public office which means that any member of the
public is entitled to come in and have his business
transacted. This applies to all solicitors city or country
and to the town agents for country solicitors. The
restriction of public callers within the time 11 a.m. to
4 p.m. is intended to leave time for dealing with the
cases by post. It was suggested on behalf of the office
that it would be better if all public callers made prior
appointments as is the position in London, Edinburgh
and Belfast. The staff in the office would welcome such
a restriction and think it would expedite work as it
can be very upsetting at times to put aside a case half
dealt with to take up a different case from a public
caller. The Council accept that the Estate Duty Office
would work more efficiently if public callers were seen
by appointment only. It was decided to suggest to mem-
bers that such a system should be introduced and
brought to the attention of members in the Society's
Gazette.
Estate Duty—provisional assessments
The Secretary had been in communication with the
head of the Estate Duty Office about the question of
provisional assessments of death duties. It was decided
that the Society should request the Department of
Finance to meet representatives of the Society with a
view to having assessments made on the figures pre-
sented in the Inland Revenue Affidavit and schedule
of assets leaving any changes in value as the result of
subsequent investigation to be dealt with by the correc-
tive affidavit.
Fees for letting agreements
A member asked for information on the scale of fees
for letting agreements as opposed to leases. The legal
position is that a solicitor is entitled to charge the full
commission scale fee under the Solicitors' Remuneration
General Orders applicable to a lease at a rack rent. The
Council on a report from a committee decided that
they would not recommend a fee for these short-term
letting agreements. Solicitors should in each case charge
a fee that is fair and reasonable having regard to all
the circumstances of the case.
Land Registry maps
On a report from a committee the Council decided
to recommend that in all cases the vendor of registered
property should furnish the purchaser with a Land
Registry map as part of the title.
SOLICITORS' REPORTS TO BANKS
ON TITLE
Discussions took place between representatives of the
Allied Irish Bank and the Bank of Ireland on the forms
of certificate of title used by these banks in the form of
a report on the state of the title. The Council take the
view that members who are instructed to investigate and
report on title for either group should not refuse this
work unless for a good reason. As a whole the profession
gains by the transfer of this work to the profession
provided that the fees received are adequate.
The Bank of Ireland use no set form of report but the
law agent for the bank asks the solicitor for the borrower
to certify that the customer has a good marketable title.
The Allied Irish Banks use a detailed form of report
on certificate of title drawing the attention of the soli-
citor to a number of matters to which answers are
required. These are inter alia :
(a) that the property is free from any mortgage, etc.;
(b) that there are no leases, sub-leases, etc., other than
those disclosed;
(c) that searches have been directed in the Registry
of Deeds and the Land Registry and satisfactory explana-
tions have been obtained;
(d) that the solicitor is satisfied from enquiries made
that there is no unauthorised development within the
meaning of the Planning Acts and that any necessary
permissions have been obtained;
(e) that the receipt for the last scale of rent has been
produced and that there is no evidence of any breach
or non-performance by the lessee of any of the cove-
nants or conditions;
(f) that there is no onerous or restrictive covenant
other than those mentioned in the schedule to the
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