John Cregan (Limerick West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 529: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position regarding a householder who has lost house deeds; the agency under his Department which will provide a new set; and the way in which a person should process his or her requirements. [23941/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I am informed by the Registrar of Titles that there would appear to be a number of possible scenarios in the situation described by the Deputy and whether the property in question is registered or unregistered will be of particular relevance. In providing the following information, it is important to note that neither my Department nor the Land Registry has an advisory role in these matters and the person in question may wish to consult a solicitor in order to determine how to proceed.

If the property in question is unregistered, the safe storage of any documents relating to ownership is entirely a private matter and if lost, destroyed or mislaid there is no organisation which will replace them. While it may be that some party — possibly a solicitor, bank or building society — has retained a copy of the deeds for some reason, neither the Land Registry nor the Registry of Deeds has any role in this. I am informed that in such circumstances it is often the practice to lodge an application for first registration with the Land Registry in order to establish title. The practice where one or all original deeds relating to unregistered property are lost or mislaid is, I am advised, comprehensively set out in Fitzgerald's land registry practice and is also covered in the Land Registry's practice direction No. 31, chapter 1 which is available on the Land Registry website at www.landregistry.ie under the section on practice directions.

I am further informed that if the title to the property is registered, on completion of the registration all original documents are permanently retained by the Land Registry and a folio is opened which is effectively the title to the property. Thereafter no deeds to that title exist. A registered owner is entitled to apply for a certificate of his title, known as a land certificate, which is sometimes referred to as the title deed for registered property. Anyone is entitled to apply for a certified copy folio. However, only one land certificate can be issued. Where a land certificate is lost, an application for a duplicate can be made in accordance with the land registration rules of 1972 and the practice is also set out in Fitzgerald's land registry practice and is also covered in the Land Registry's practice direction No. 16, which is also available on the Land Registry website at www.landregistry.ie under the section on practice directions.