Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 May 2026
529. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the formal criteria applied by Tailte Éireann when determining whether a first registration application qualifies for expedited processing; the number of expedition requests received in each of the past three years; and the proportion approved. [33067/26]
View answer530. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether time-sensitive financial circumstances, including risk to mortgage approval or drawdown, are recognised as grounds for expedition of first registration applications; and whether any formal policy guidance exists in this regard. [33068/26]
View answer536. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage what oversight mechanisms are in place within his Department to monitor delays and service performance in Tailte Éireann; and whether any formal escalation framework exists for cases experiencing prolonged delays. [33074/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 529, 530 and 536 together.
Tailte Éireann is an independent Government agency under the aegis of my Department. Tailte Éireann provides a property registration system, property valuation service and national mapping and surveying infrastructure for the State. Under Section 8 of the Tailte Éireann Act 2022, Tailte Éireann is independent in the performance of its functions, and neither I as Minister nor my Department have an oversight role with regard to registrations on the National Land Register.
Tailte Éireann, under its statutory remit, reports through its Annual Report to the Minister prior to the laying of the Report before the Houses of the Oireachtas.
In addition, from a corporate governance perspective, Tailte Éireann as a State Body under the aegis of my Department, is obligated to comply with certain provisions of the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies, and with the reporting requirements as set out in the Tailte Éireann Act 2022. My Department is responsible for monitoring and overseeing such compliance. This is achieved through the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Tailte Éireann Oversight Agreement, Performance Delivery Agreements, quarterly oversight meetings and quarterly updates provided by Tailte Éireann against key performance indicators. As a Civil Service body with its own Accounting Officer, Tailte Éireann is also required to comply with the Corporate Governance Standard for the Civil Service.
Tailte Éireann will make every effort to expedite applications which are in order for registration, where valid grounds exist, and where doing so does not negatively impact on the priority provided to a prior lodged application or on its obligations to all of its customers under the Public Sector Duty.
Any such request to expedite a pending application should be from the Lodging Party, in most cases a solicitor acting on behalf of the applicant, by email to info@tailte.ie and must state valid grounds on which the expedite is sought. Any undue financial hardship as a result of delays in processing of a first registration application will be considered.
On receipt, the expedite request will be adjudicated on its merit by the appropriate unit dealing with the application with knowledge of the case at hand. There is no externally published procedure in relation to requesting an expedite of a first registration application however, all staff are provided appropriate internal guidance to handle such requests in a fair manner.
Compulsory first registration requirements are not generally a barrier in the conveyancing process.
A purchaser of property with a pending first registration should investigate the title as they would an unregistered title and to facilitate that investigation the vendor should provide the purchaser with a certified copy of the first registration application lodged by the vendor. Following completion of the property transaction, the purchaser must then make an application for first registration.
In the majority of cases, there is nothing to prevent a further transaction in respect of a property which is pending first registration with Tailte Éireann. The Law Society has provided guidance to its members in this regard: Sales where first registration is pending in the Land Registry.
It is not possible to provide the details as requested in regard to the number of expedite requests received in the past three years, as correspondence received which does not contain valid grounds for expeditious processing is treated as correspondence only and not recorded as a formal request.
The table below shows the number of first registration applications lodged per year in the last three years and the percentage of those that have been marked as an expedite on receipt of a valid request from the lodging party.
|
Year |
Total FR Applications lodged |
% FR Applications marked Expedited |
|
2023 |
18,128 |
2.61% |
|
2024 |
28,858 |
1.50% |
|
2025 |
33,325 |
1.69% |
