Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 352: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the reasons for the delay in correcting an error in respect of the location of a right of way in the Land Registry digital map; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32158/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I can inform the Deputy that under the Registration of Deeds and Title Act 2006, the Property Registration Authority (PRA) was established as and from 4 November 2006. The PRA replaces the Registrar of Deeds and Titles as the registering authority in relation to property registration in Ireland and, subject to the above Act, is independent in the performance of its functions.

The Deputy will be aware of the service to T.D.s and Senators which provides information on the current status of applications, such as the subject of this question, which was introduced in May 2006. The service provides a speedier, more efficient and more cost effective alternative to submitting Parliamentary Questions. It is operated by the PRA and is available all year round.

I can further inform the Deputy that his query has been forwarded to the PRA for attention and direct reply via the above mentioned service.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 353: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality, in view of the large number of errors which have been found in Land Registry digital maps with respect to boundary locations and the positioning of rights of way and wayleaves, particularly in County Cork, if he will direct the Property Registration Authority Ireland to put in place a system for rectification in order that these errors, which are the fault of neither vendors nor purchasers, do not unduly delay the sale of properties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32159/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I can inform the Deputy that under the Registration of Deeds and Title Act 2006, the Property Registration Authority (PRA) was established as and from 4 November 2006. The PRA replaces the Registrar of Deeds and Titles as the registering authority in relation to property registration in Ireland and, subject to the above Act, is independent in the performance of its functions. However, in order to be helpful to the Deputy I have had enquiries made with the Authority.

I am informed that the digitisation of 2.8 million land parcels was a major undertaking that required careful planning, and the development of a detailed protocol to manage and control the process was essential. Considerable care was taken to ensure that properties were brought over into the digital environment correctly. As of 28 October, 2011 there were 316,535 registered parcels on the mapping register for County Cork. This equates to somewhere in the region of between 1,250,000 and 1,500,000 registered boundaries.

The Deputy will appreciate that one of the benefits of the digitisation has been the identification and elimination of some historical anomalies that existed on the paper maps prior to digitisation. This process is continuing and will result in many development schemes becoming realigned with revised OSI topographical detail, thus ensuring that the Land Registry map is as good a representation of what exists on the ground as is possible within the scale of maps available to the PRA.

An essential element of the Digital Mapping Project has been the development and implementation of extensive quality assurance procedures to ensure the conversion from paper to digital form has been performed correctly.

As would have been the case in the paper based environment, where a query arises in relation to how a property is represented or easement is registered on the Registry Map, details of the problem are forwarded to the PRA where a dedicated Unit based in the Authority's Waterford office investigates matters with a view to resolution of any difficulties that may arise.

The Unit will assess the issue by reference to the agreed protocols and by reference to appropriate statutes. A rigorous investigation is undertaken and every effort is made to ensure such enquiries are dealt with expeditiously. However, some cases may be complex and involve more in depth historical research or the service of notice on adjoining parties.

From the 1 January, 2011 to date, the PRA has received approximately 160 enquiries from customers (both legal and otherwise) regarding mapping issues in County Cork. Not all of these enquiries have shown that there is an error on the digital map and hence no amendment to PRA's map record was required in those cases.