Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 April 2026
726. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether his Department has assessed the impact of probate delays on national housing supply; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30577/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn December 2023, an Expert Group on Conveyancing and Probate was convened by the then Taoiseach to review conveyancing and probate processes in Ireland to reduce costs and delays for home-purchasers. A major objective underpinning the Group’s work was to maximise the available housing stock, by avoiding having homes lying empty because they are caught in lengthy and inefficient conveyancing or probate transactions.
In July 2024, Government approved the Report of the Expert Group on Conveyancing and Probate, which set out a series of recommendations and improvements to be made to both processes to make them more efficient.
An Implementation Group (IG), comprising an independent Chair, alongside key stakeholders as well as relevant Government departments, agencies and statutory bodies, was put in place in September 2024 to oversee the implementation of the Expert Group’s recommendations. Significant progress has been made by the Group and its most recent progress report is available here: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-the-taoiseach/publications/conveyancing-and-probate-implementation-group-progress-report-june-2025/.
The Programme for Government 2025 Securing Ireland’s Future makes a commitment, as part of a Homebuyer Help Package, to “significantly reduce the time taken for the Probate Office to process applications to extract grants of probate.
In that regard, the Courts Service is rolling out a reform programme to the probate process, which has already seen significant reduction in processing times. The Courts Service is also currently working with a pilot group of solicitors in the Dublin court area to test and refine an online probate process.
