Derek McDowell (Labour)

One of the primary functions of the new authority will be to promote and extend the registration of ownership of land. My Department has engaged in extensive consultations with the Land Registry, the Law Society and the Irish Mortgage Council on practical means of achieving this objective. One of the suggestions that arose from these discussions related to the categories of title which may be applied for under the Registration of Title Act 1964. Under the 1964 Act, the categories of title which may be registered are as follows: in respect of freehold land, an absolute title, a qualified title or possessory title; and in respect of leasehold interest, an absolute title, a good leasehold title, a qualified title or a possessory title.

In cases where the application for an absolute or good leasehold title is submitted but the title can be established only for a limited period or with certain reservations, the 1964 Act allows the registrar to grant a qualified title. However, the Act did not concurrently permit applications for qualified title. In respect of the status of qualified title, section 39 of the 1964 Act, which relates to freehold, and section 47 of the 1964 Act, which relates to leasehold, provide that a registration of an owner with a qualified title shall have the same effect as registration with an absolute title, except that registration with a qualified title does not affect or prejudice the enforcement of any right appearing by the register to be accepted.

Arising from discussions with the relevant bodies, I have introduced amendments to the 1964 Act to permit applications for qualified title with a view to removing the stigma currently associated with qualified status. In effect, an applicant would be free to apply for registration of a title, subject to certain reservations which will be recorded on the relevant folio in the Land Registry. The entry on the register will accept from registration any right arising before a specified date, under a specified instrument or otherwise particularly described in the register. Someone with an imperfect title will be able to apply to register it knowing of the imperfection, which will be recorded. I should not use the term "imperfection", rather "area of uncertainty" or whatever.

This change will apply to both sections 33 and 40 of the 1964 Act, which deal with freehold land and leasehold interests, respectively. While these changes are relatively modest in scope, in the interests of clarity I have decided to replace section 33 by amendment No. 35 and section 40 by amendment No. 36 so that practitioners will be able to see the exact meaning of the two sections without needing to take out notebooks to make their own insertions and amendments.