Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

Provisionally I welcome the Minister's initiative but I wonder whether the various parties affected by these changes have been consulted, for example, the staff of the Land Registry and the Law Society. Provision is made for one member of staff on the board of the authority, which is low. Given that the staff are the experts when it comes to the running of the Land Registry, is one member of staff on the board enough? Will the Minister have an opportunity to talk to people affected by the new changes?

I am concerned about potential fee increases. I am a conveyancing practitioner and substantial fee increases were introduced a few years ago when other changes were made to the Land Registry. Fees were increased by a few hundred euro and I hope the new changes will not be accompanied by more substantial increases in registration fees. I am concerned about this as a practitioner and on behalf of house purchasers who must pay the fees, given that the authority will be self-financing. However, the changes are needed. I have tabled an amendment to address the issue of registration of title and I hope the new body will aggressively take on that task and achieve progress beyond the current three counties.