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GAZETTE
MARCH 1977
COUNCIL OF THE SOCIETY
LAND REGISTRY
Report of meeting held in the Department of Justice on 27
January 1977
1. The meeting was the fourth in a series of meetings
being held periodically between the Council of the
Incorporated Law Society and the Department of Justice
to discuss Land Registry matters.
2. Present
Representing the Incorporated Law Society:
Mr. Ivers
(Director General), Mr. Buckley, Mr. Lanigan, Mr.
Moore, Mr. McEvoy, Mr. Noonan, Mr. O'Donnell.
Representing the Department of Justice:
Mr. Donnelly,
Mr. Griffith (Registrar of Titles), Mr. Early, Mr.
McMahon.
3. Mr. Donnelly welcomed the Law Society
representatives and Mr. Ivers said that they appreciated
the opportunity to air their views.
4. In the course of a wide-ranging discussion the
following were the principal matters discussed :-
(a) the overall position about delays in the Land
Registry, particularly insofar as certain
categories of work were concerned;
(b) a deterioration in the position about priority
searches;
(c) the difficulties being caused by Folios not being
available for inspection because they were "out"
e.g. with a dealing — the difficulties being
particularly pronounced where "omnibus" folios
(i.e. where a number of holdings was registered
on the one folio) were concerned;
(d) the necessity for having Land Certificates at all;
(e) the map reconstruction programme;
(0
difficulties in connection with Maps required in
sub-division cases;
(g) the position regarding availability of Ordnance
Survey maps;
(h) delays in First Registration cases;
(i) some implications of the Landlord and Tenant
Bill, 1977;
0)
difficulties caused for solicitors by the Registrar's
requirements under the Family Home Protection
Act, 1976; and
(k) complaints about the Registry of Deeds.
5. The overall position about delays
The Law Society representatives felt that the position
about delays, particularly where First Registrations,
Transfers of part and copy Maps were concerned, were at
an unacceptably high level. Mr. Donnelly said that the
difficulty was that, while the intake of work in the Land
Registry was increasing significantly, no additional staff
could be recruited to handle the increased work-load
because of a general service-wide embargo on the creation
of new posts.
Mr. Moore asked if statistical information about intake
of work, delays, etc. could be made available to the Law
Society. Mr. Donnelly said that there would be no
difficulty about this. He suggested that, perhaps, Mr.
Ivers would specify the Law Society's requirements in the
matter.
6. A deterioration in the position about priority
searches
Mr. Buckley mentioned that, in his experience, the
position about Priority Searches had been generally
satisfactory until recently when he had noticed a marked
lengthening in the time taken to complete these searches.
Mr. Griffith said that he was not aware of any change
in the position but he promised to look into the matter.
7. The difficulties being caused by folios not being
available for inspection
The difficulties were particularly pronounced where
omnibus Folios were concerned.
Mr. Griffith said that some of the Folios were
constantly in use in different areas of the Registry and,
accordingly, might not be readily available for inspection.
Various suggestions as to how to solve the problem
were discussed, including the possibility of having
duplicate Folios maintained in a certain fixed location in
the Registry.
It was agreed that the Registrar would consider the
matter further.
8. The necessity for having Land Certificates at all
Mr. Moore, in particular, considered that Land
Certificates were much more of a liability (e.g. through
danger of loss) than an asset in the process of Registration.
It was agreed that the Registrar would consider
whether, or to what extent, the use of Land Certificates
might be reduced. (The Registrar pointed out that
amending legislation would be involved if the Land
Certificates were to be abolished altogether).
9. The Map Reconstruction programme
Mr. Lanigan drew attention to the estimate given at the
last meeting (on 5 February 1976) that the pilot scheme
for Co. Carlow would be completed before the end of
1976.
Mr. Griffith said that the completion of the pilot
scheme had taken longer than anticipated because of
unexpected snags which had arisen. The present target
date for completion was April. It was then hoped to start
on the reconstruction of the Dublin maps.
10. Difficulties in connection with Maps required in
Sub-division cases
These difficulties have arisen as a consequence of the
Registrar's requirement that applications should be
accompanied by plans drawn on the current largest scale
Ordnance Survey maps (in accordance with the Land
Registration Rules 1972). This requirement was discussed
at the last meeting when it was agreed that it would
operate from 1st September 1976.
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