The Gazette 1975

^ " e d . I do not accept that delays in the Estate Duty a nch are responsible for, or contribute in any signi- a »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 s > 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 d that the replacement of Death Duties with other th? nS ° f C a p i t a l Taxation will lessen the possibility of ® difficulties referred to in the future. Ih The Minister will presumably appreciate I a t the elimination of Death Dutifs will not affect the ^ r dships which have arisen in discs already or that h a >' 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 ar 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 a ngo. Mr. R. RYAN; I cannot be any more specific than to V that we are going to get rid of the whole wretched c >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 r l rid of this iniquitous system which ought to have e ® n 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 ^ st ate Duty system so to talk about abolition of Estate at 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 ? ta 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 U *V system? If so, what doe he propose to do? Mr. R. 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 e 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 n d arrangements which are far above the value of the on the day on which the person died.

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. 53

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.