Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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125. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the actions his Department is taking to address the current inability of Tailte Éireann to access instruments which pre-date 2006 due to an issue at their filing repository (details supplied); when he expects this matter to be resolved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60276/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Tailte Éireann is an independent Government agency under the aegis of my Department. Tailte Éireann provide a property registration system, property valuation service, and national mapping and surveying infrastructure for the State. Under Section 8(6) of the Tailte Éireann Act 2022. Tailte Éireann is independent in the performance of its functions.

I am aware of the issue in Tailte Éireann’s Central Filing Repository in Santry. It is important to clarify at the outset that applications for registration on the National Land Register, or applications for archive records in the Registry of Deeds in Henrietta Street are not affected by the issue in Tailte Éireann’s Central Filing Repository in Santry.

When a title is accepted for registration in the Land Registry, the original title documents are retained and permanently filed in an Instrument. A folio is opened in respect of the property and generally it is not necessary to refer to the original title documents again. A purchaser can, therefore, accept the folio as evidence of title without having to read the relevant deeds. There are circumstances during an investigation of title where the original title deeds will need to be inspected and a request for a copy Instrument is made to Tailte Éireann’s repository.

An issue has been identified at Tailte Éireann’s Central Filing Repository, which houses completed registration applications (Instruments). During a recent inspection, the presence of asbestos was detected in part of the facility. As a precautionary measure, access to the affected area has been restricted until it is deemed safe for operations by the Office of Public Works (OPW).

As a result, Copy Instrument requests for all pre-2006 Instruments are temporarily paused, as these records are located within the restricted area.

Tailte Éireann understand the impact and regrets the inconvenience this may cause and want to assure their customers that Tailte Éireann are working to resolve the issue as a matter of urgency and restore the service as soon as it is safe to do so. Tailte Éireann are actively engaging with the OPW who are overseeing the operation and have engaged experts to safely clean the premises and give clearance for re-entry. Tailte Éireann are currently engaged with OPW seeking an interim solution, pending the completion of the work, which would allow access to the Instruments. The priority remains the health and safety of staff and all those accessing the facility. Tailte Éireann will provide further updates at the earliest opportunity via the website, www.tailte.ie.