Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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3369. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress made to date regarding the digitisation of Land Commission records in the context of the development of key search aids; and if he has engaged an expert third-party for this project outside of the element of the records that were destroyed in the public records office. [39331/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I am advised by my officials that the project to digitise the search indices to the Irish Land Commission records is proceeding but at a slower pace than originally anticipated. Records Branch is a small unit within my Department and the necessity of complying with public health advice relating to the COVID-19 pandemic in the last 17 months has impacted on progress.

An internal scoping exercise to identify the items which will need to be digitised has been carried out and a guide to the items in question is being prepared which will in due course be utilised as part of any procurement process that may be required.

Preliminary analysis has identified in excess of 200 handwritten volumes, as well as various loose-leaf collections, card indices and maps which are regularly accessed by my staff when searching for documents and which will need to be preserved in the first instance.

Additionally, my officials are continuing their enquiries with other Government Departments and Offices who have carried out similar projects to learn from their experiences, so that the project is managed as effectively and economically as possible.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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3370. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the way in which persons may access Land Commission records in cases in which they contain information on blood relatives now deceased. [39332/21]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Access to the records of the former Irish Land Commission (ILC) held by the Records Branch of the Department at its premises in Portlaoise is governed by the Land Purchase Act Rules 1939 (S.I. No. 341 of 1939). Order XIX of the rules states—

Certified copies of Abstracts of Title or documents connected therewith, agreements for sale between vendor and purchaser, undertakings to purchase from the Land Commission, conveyances to purchasers, vesting orders and fiats, shall not be issued without leave of the Judicial Commissioner or the direction of the Examiner, except to vendors or purchasers their successors in title or their respective solicitors.

As can be seen from the above, in the case of a person such as those identified by the Deputy, who is not the registered owner (i.e. successor in title) of the lands in question, there is no automatic right under the Rules to gain access to Irish Land Commission records relating to their ancestors.

It may be of interest to the Deputy to know that the Data Protection Act 2018 (No. 7 of 2018) permits data processing for ‘archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes’. If an individual considers that their request falls within one of these provisions, then they should contact my officials in the Records Branch and make their case.

Every request is considered on its own merits having regard to the purposes of the request, the likely volume of documentation involved and the impact that complying with the request will have on the ability of my officials to carry out their regular duties. Arising from the current public health advice relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, my officials continue to work remotely where possible and practicable to do so.