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GAZETTE
N W
NOVEMBER 1992
E
s
From Par chment and Qui ll
to High Tech
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Memorial of a deed executed by Jonathan Swift on 8 and 9 May, 1721
Land Registry Celebrates 100
years
The Minister for Justice,
Padraig
Flynn,
presided over a distinguished
gathering of guests on 15 October to
launch a book to mark the
Centenary of the Land Registry and
the Registry of Deeds.
Welcoming the Minister,
Catherine
TYeacy,
Registrar of Deeds and Titles,
said a system of registration which
enabled private property to be dealt
with in a safe, efficient and reliable
way was recognised as an essential
pre-requisite to the smooth running
of a modern economy. " I am very
honoured to be at this historic point
in time heading up an organisation
which provides such a system for the
people of Ireland and which is so
ably staffed by many talented and
dedicated people", she said.
In his address the Minister for
Justice, Padraig Flynn, confirmed
that he had made a start on the
legislation necessary to formally vest
the Registries in a Semi-State Board.
He said that the Registry first
opened its doors to the public in
1892. "Back then, John Redmond's
Home Rule Party was pressurising
the Westminister Government to
grant Ireland its own Parliament in
Dublin. 1892 saw the switch on of
the first electricity grid in Dublin -
the electricity was generated by
Dublin Corporation in Fleet Street.
Irish Whiskey sold at eighteen
shillings a gallon - that is about
14p a bottle in today's currency. God
be with the days!"
The Minister continued: " The Local
Registration of Title (Ireland) Act,
1891 brought the Land Registry into
being on 1 January, 1892. It was to
'provide a simple, inexpensive and
easily accessible Land Registry for
the occupiers of land in Ireland'. To
this day, the Registry continues to
meet that objective.
"Over the 100 years of its existence
the range of services provided by the
Land Registry has expanded and the
volume of business directed to the
Registry has increased enormously and
indeed continues to grow in tandem
with our economy. Just a few figures
put that growth in perspective:-
• the first folio opened under the
1891 Act was a Co. Meath folio
on 4th March, 1892 in the name
of Mr. William Colin Hanbury;
• 43,000 titles were registered over
the first 10 years of the Registry's
existence;
• this had grown to 250,000
registrations by the time of the
foundation of the State;
• today the figure stands at 1.3
million titles registered.
" The Registry, founded in the era of
the parchment and quill, now has an
annual intake of about 230,000
applications, including about 90,000
dealings involving transfer of
ownership.
"The time of the parchment and quill
and indeed the pen and the paper are
over. New technology beckons.
Computerisation commenced here in
1982. This year, the implementation of
a major five year strategic information
technology plan for the Land Registry
and the Registry of Deeds began.
When the plan is fully implemented,
about 75% of the Land Registry will
have support for title registration
based on folio database and a
significant proportion of the Registry
will have automated support for
mapping, using geographic
information systems.
" As you all know, the Government
have decided to reconstitute the
Land Registry and Registry of Deeds
as a Semi-State Body. This removes
the Registries from the Civil Service
structure. It will give the Registries
the flexibility, structures and modern
technology necessary to provide a
fast efficient and up-to-date service
to the public.
" I recently announced the
establishment of a non-statutory
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