The Gazette 1975

^ " e d . I do not accept that delays in the Estate Duty

nch are responsible for, or contribute in any signi-

»t way to, the problem. Since August, 1973 a new

Went was introduced whereby Inland Revenue

J ,

t s a r c

assessed provisionally on presentation. I

• however, having all aspects of the matter examined

> p a t h e t i c a l ly as possible to sec how cases of

l dd °

U b ,

d , l a r d s h i p c a n b e s t b e d c a l t v v i t h

1 m i

h t

f o

that the replacement of Death Duties with other

th?

f C a p i t a l

Taxation will lessen the possibility of

® difficulties referred to in the future.

The Minister will presumably appreciate

t the elimination of Death Dutifs will not affect the

dships which have arisen in discs already or that

a r

' se up to April next. Since he appears to me to

Ind*

a c c c p t e d t h a t t h c r e h a v c b e e n c a s e s o f

hardship

^ I know that there have been cases of extreme

dship, could the Minister bé a little bit more

Pacific as to what he proposes to do having regard to

e f a c t

that it would appear on the face of it that to

^ anything about it might require some statutory

ngo.

Mr.

R. RYAN; I

cannot be any more specific than to

V that we are going to get rid of the whole wretched

>stem of Death Duties that has given rise to these

^ p l a i n t s , hardships and delays, Nothing could

more effective or of greater relief to people than to

rid of this iniquitous system which ought to have

got rid of long ago.

.Mr. Colley: I should like to point out to the Minister

a t

the cases to which I am referring arise under the

ate Duty system so to talk about abolition of Estate

y does not answer the question. Is the Minister

• arc that the real difficulty has arisen because of

a t

has happened the economic situation and the

I ?

strophic fall in the value of property, particularly

are

s, and that is why the position has become so

Is the Minister saying that he will do sorne-

about the cases that have arisen under the Estate

*V system? If so, what doe he propose to do?

Mr.

Ryan: What I propose to do is to get rid

a b

the hardship that was caused. The difficulty to

^mch Deputy Colley has drawn attention would not

a v e

arisen if Death Duties were abolished, as they

to have been long ago. Furthermore, I should

to point out that, notwithstanding the falling

°ckmarket, people who have certain Government

purities are in the position to surrender those at par

so receive in payment of Estate Duty concessions

d arrangements which are far above the value of the

on the day on which the person died.

APPRENTICESHIP

The Society has received a number of enquiries

a s

to the possibility of apprenticeship. Solicitors

' Prepared to take an apprentice are asked to

1 c

°ntact Miss M. Byrne at the Society's office.

PRESENTATION OF CERTIFICATES

The next Presentation of Parchments will take place

on Thursday, 5th June, 1975, at 4 p.m.

Apprentices whose indentures have expired and have

passed all the Society's examinations and who wish to

receive their parchments should lodge with the Societv

on or before May, 21st, their full name and address

in Irish and English together with a Form AE 5 com-

pleted by the apprentice and the master and £30

admission fee.

Please note that no applications will be accepted

after 21st May, 1975.

DAIL EIREANN—20 February 1975

Land Registry Application

Mr. Crinion asked the Minister for Justice if he

will state men first registration will be made in

respect of an application which was made in 1973, in

view of the fact that the delay in dealing with it is

holding up a local authority programme.

Mr. Cooney: It is expected that first registration

will be completed in about ten days. I regret the

delay in this case. Delays in the Land Registry have

been a cause of concern for some time and investiga-

tions to achieve a fundamental reorganisation of the

work system have been in progress now for some

years and are still in progress.

Mr. Crinion: I appreciate the Minister's reply but

we are having continuous trouble with long delays

and most solicitors have found the same.

Mr. Cooney: I am well aware of the irritation the

delays in the Land Registry cause. These delays are

not the fault of the staff in the Land Registry; they

are the fault of the system, which is essentially the

same system as was devised in 1891 when registrat-

ionstarted. It is not capable of dealing with modern

demands on it. We are having a fundamental re-

organisation carried out. I am glad to say I gave a

direction last week for radical changes in regard to

the mapping procedures, because it often happens

that these procedures are the reasons for the delays.

I hope that fundamental change, plus some other

changes which are presently under consideration,

will bring the Land Registry up to date.

Mr. J. Ryan: Would the Minister agree that the

decentralisation of the Land Registry to suit the

different constituencies would help to eliminate the

long delays?

Mr. Cooney: It is a possible solution and I am not

saying that it is one that has been ruled out or ac-

cepted. It is one of the factors that is under consider-

ation to see if some devolution of function to district

registries might be feasible.