Seanad debates

Thursday, 5 May 2005

Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed).

 

11:00 am

Photo of Maurice CumminsMaurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister to the House. I also welcome the Bill. I thank the Minister for his comprehensive explanation of its contents and other legislation that will come before us in the relatively near future. I liked the Minister's overview and description of the old Registry of Deeds office and all that is contained therein.

It has become commonplace for people to criticise our land law because of its complexity but such criticism is entirely justified. Land law is frequently referred to as being draconian and that criticism is easily justified. The law that governs property rights dates back centuries, as the Minister stated. We did not need the Law Reform Commission to inform us that such law is archaic, outdated and needs to be changed. We have had Law Reform Commission reports but little has changed to date. I welcome this Bill as a first step in the process of change.

The complexity of property law is made even worse by the rituals that have grown up over the same period in any land transaction. Anyone who is fortunate enough to own his or her own home will know that, at the very best, it takes up to six weeks to go through the rituals and rigmarole of buying one's own home. In the modern age of technology where past transactions, old deeds and contracts can be available electronically, I cannot understand why people should be dragged through this process any longer. The Minister explained that in other jurisdictions the process involved takes only 14 or 15 days compared to six or seven weeks in this jurisdiction. We should aim for the process to be completed in that shorter timeframe. The Bill will help in that respect to some extent but we have a long way to go.

In the interests of the consumer we need to examine more closely the processes and checks that are said to be involved in conveyancing. Are all these checks and validations necessary? Are they being carried out? When an 80-year old house is changing hands, why does the chain of title need to be validated again and again? Do repetitive processes such as this in the conveyancing process serve any purpose? These are some of the issues I want to raise.

In this context, I am pleased the Minister has taken steps to simplify matters in this area. However, as he would agree, this Bill is only one small step. There is a large element of repeal and re-enactment in the Bill. It is not all new material. As the Minister has informed us, the Bill will pave the way for the storage of deeds and maps on a computer. That is welcome but why was the Bill not introduced some years ago? For example, when the e-commerce Bill was presented to us five years ago, why were these provisions not included as part of that Bill?

When it comes to moving forward with technological advances, why is the Government always so far behind? We made our Statute Book available electronically a few years after most countries had done so. While other countries have been using electronic tagging, the Minister is still wondering about whether the technology is right. As part of this Legislature, we need to stop being content with playing catch-up. We need to look ahead and bring forward legislation that will facilitate the greatest possible use of technology.

I would much prefer if today we were in a situation where e-conveyancing was the norm and that buying and selling a house was a far more simple and straightforward process. Even after the enactment of this Bill, we will still have two distinct and different systems of land registration — the Registry of Deeds on the one hand and the Land Registry on the other. If we are serious about simplifying conveyancing, we should have one uniform system. I am glad the Minister announced here this morning that one such uniform system, which is essential, will be included in this Bill.

However, it must be asked why has the Bill been introduced if it is proposed to make such a major change to it on Committee Stage? It is a major development to put in place a uniform system to bring these bodies together, which I welcome, but the Minister could have delayed the introduction of the Bill for a few weeks until all these amendments are ready. Alternatively, if they are ready, why were they not included? I agree with what the Minister and the Government are trying to do in this area but I do not agree with their ham-fisted approach to introduce another part to the Bill at a later Stage. I do not agree with legislation being introduced in that manner.

I listened with interest to Professor John Wylie — to whom the Minister referred — one of the foremost authorities on this subject at a recent meeting of an Oireachtas joint committee. He stated:

It is really absurd, when the State has been independent for ... 80 years, that we still have a ... land conveyancing which is based ... [on] old English feudal law. It is ridiculous in this day and age, when our lives are ruled more and more by computers that our conveyancing system is still based on the age of the quill pen and ink.

That is the manner in which the Minister described the office of the Registry of Deeds. I agree that those in the registry have done and continue to do excellent work but we must move forward with the times, as Professor Wylie recently explained to that committee.

If we are to make substantial progress in this area, there must be a strategy for getting all titles into the Land Registry. This has been done in England where a strategy was devised and now approximately 99% of the land-bank of England and Wales is on the register in the Land Registry. We should aim to do likewise here.

I take this opportunity to compliment the Law Reform Commission and the officials in the Minister's Department, to whom the Minister referred, who work on the area of land reform. It is of paramount importance that they are given whatever resources are necessary to speed up and modernise land law and conveyancing law.

The Bill provides for the replacement of all old legislation dealing with the Registry of Deeds dating back to 1707, or Queen Anne's time. It will put the Registry of Deeds on a sound footing. It also makes sense to make certain changes to the Registration of Title Act 1964 with a view to making e-conveyancing a reality.

I commend the Bill to the House and I look forward to the implementation of the changes envisaged in it. I hope we will receive at the earliest possible opportunity the other part to which the Minister referred so that we will have an opportunity to examine it, make a contribution and amend it, if possible.

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