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.
Applications under Section 49 of the Registration of Title Act, 1964 are made in Form 6 of the Land Registration Rules 2012 and are applications based on long possession, commonly referred to as squatter’s title.
Where a person is in possession of the lands for the required period, the registered owner’s rights to recover possession becomes statute barred. An application under Section 49 is an application that seeks to dispose a registered owner of their legal title to the lands in favour of the applicant and requires examination of title by Tailte Éireann.
Applications where the property is claimed by adverse possession and where the person in possession of the land has no or insufficient documents of title (deeds) to substantiate their claim, are very complex and necessitate the raising of detailed Rulings on Title and the subsequent service of notices on all interested parties who may appear to the Authority to have an interest in the property.
Tailte Éireann allow a minimum 21 days plus a reasonable time for postage for any objections to be lodged in response to any notice served. However, given the strong constitutional protection afforded to property rights in Ireland, any objections or observations received, even after the time period has expired, must be considered. In many cases, multiple notice periods may be required prior to a registered owner being disposed of their title.
By reason of the foregoing, it is not possible to give an average processing time for completions of Section 49 applications as each application is different and specific to the applicant and the property. The number of Section 49 applications pending by year of lodgement has been provided in tabular form below.
|
Year of Lodgement
|
Section 49 Applications pending
|
|
2019
|
1
|
|
2021
|
2
|
|
2022
|
25
|
|
2023
|
45
|
|
2024
|
209
|
|
2025
|
658
|
|
2026
|
234
|
|
Total
|
1,174
|
Applications for registration on the Land Register are processed in date of lodgement order in accordance with the Land Registration Rules. Tailte Éireann are actively processing the aged cases noted in the table above and continue to engage with the lodging parties in efforts to progress the applications to completion. The application noted in the details supplied is currently awaiting attention in date of lodgement order.
The introduction of a dedicated first registration and Section 49 Validation Unit in the Roscommon Office aims to complete initial validation checks within 15 working days of receipt of an application under Section 49. Applications which meet the minimum requirements for lodgement as outlined on various checklists available on www.tailte.ie will pass through validation and on to processing.
In cases where any delay in registration could have a potential impact, Tailte Éireann make every effort to expedite applications where valid grounds exist, and where doing so does not impose a conflict in regard to priority given to any prior lodged dealing. Lodging parties may contact Tailte Éireann in relation to a specific case by email at info@tailte.ie.
Further information in relation to specific cases may be obtained by Oireachtas members on behalf of constituents by contacting the dedicated e-mail address in respect of Tailte Éireann at oireachtas@tailte.ie.
As part of Tailte Éireann’s resourcing strategy, the Accelerated Recruitment Programme was launched in early 2024 to address the high volume of vacancies and strengthen operational capacity in response to increasing service demands. Since the establishment of the programme, recruitment activity has been sustained and extensive. Key roles and vacancies have been filled through a combination of new appointments, internal promotions and mobility placements.
In a number of areas, recruitment campaigns are complete or ongoing, with successful candidates awaiting confirmed start dates. Tailte Éireann are continuing to fill vacancies at a rapid rate with the expectation that total vacancies across Tailte Éireann will be between 3-4% by the end of Q2 2026.
I am confident that as the required complement of Registration staff have now been onboarded, and with process improvement measures taking effect, Tailte Éireann will be in a position to achieve its goal of reducing waiting times across all registration services.
