Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

I agree there is a problem if people present documentation to the Land Registry which is false and does not represent the position on the ground. Short of asking Land Registry officials to go out with tape measures, theodolites and the like, it is difficult to see how it can be avoided.

I do not accept the proposition that the Land Registry has nothing to do with checking the validity of a claim for registration or the opening of a new folio. The reality is that it takes responsibility for the correctness of the registration. Moreover, in many circumstances people get a less than absolute title because of reservations and difficulties about ownership issues.

Extending compulsory registration is an issue which the new authority will have to tackle on a gradual, rolling basis. The amendment which Senator Tuffy has provoked from me relating to compulsory registration deals with one of the areas we have in mind, that is, multi-storey apartment blocks. In that type of case there is no reason that people should not have a simplified title. Since most estates are now built on farmland, there usually is registered title for most modern developments. Nonetheless, there are areas, particularly in the case of multi-storey apartments, where it should be possible to require compulsory registration, by category rather than by area.