I am very pleased to have the opportunity to launch this valuable - and timely - Conference on the changing face of land law and conveyancing practice and to provide you with an insight into the Government's policy and future intentions in this important area of law and practice.

At the outset, I want to thank 'First Law' for their initiative in organising the Conference, and to congratulate them on assembling an impressive range of speakers who will cover various aspects of the recent, and ongoing, reform process.

Turning now to the substance of today's Conference, I want to begin by referring to the far reaching reforms contained in the Registration of Deeds and Title Act 2006 which was enacted earlier this year.

I am sure that all of us here this morning recognise the importance of effective and accessible property registration structures and procedures.  Apart from the security of title which they provide for individual home owners, they also have the capacity to contribute in a meaningful way to entrepreneurial and business activity in the country.

In addition to this domestic impact, efficient registration systems - by which I mean systems in which (1) a high level of property protection is provided; (2) registration procedures are straightforward, and (3) undue delays and related costs are kept to a minimum - also have the capacity to enhance national competitiveness by making the country an attractive investment location within the international community. 

In this context, it is notable that the World Bank has stressed the importance of efficient property registration systems as a means of promoting entrepreneurship and enhancing business activity in its 2005 and 2006 Reports on factors that contribute to improvements in the business climate within countries.
 
One of the principal objectives of this year's Act is the establishment of the Property Registration Authority with the specific mandate of modernising our land registration structures.  The new Authority -which, I am happy to announce, will come into formal existence on 4 November next - will not only manage and control the Land Registry and the Registry of Deeds but also promote and extend the registration of ownership of land.

This new governance structure for property registration services is intended to:

I am confident that the members of the new Authority - under the capable leadership of Gerry McCaughey - together with its dedicated and competent staff will give a new impetus and direction to the modernisation process and provide an enhanced quality service for its many customers. On behalf of the Government, I want to take this opportunity to wish the Authority and its staff every success in their future work. 

The other key objective of this year's legislation is to update and streamline the law relating to registration of deeds and to reform the law relating to the registration of title to land. 

I want to make it clear however that while the legislation provides for updating the law relating to registration of deeds, the Government's clear intention is that the registration of deeds will give way to the registration of title and that this will lead in turn to the closure of the Registry of Deeds in the not too distant future.

When the Registration of Title Act 1964 was enacted over 40 years ago, hopes were high that registration of title in the Land Registry would gradually replace the registry of deeds system.  Specific provision was made in section 24 of that Act for extending compulsory registration on a geographical basis.  Subsequently, a 1969 ministerial order extended compulsory registration to counties Carlow, Laois and Meath.  No further extension took place until I made an order in September 2005 extending compulsory registration to counties Longford, Roscommon and Westmeath with effect from 1 April last. 

The lack of progress in extending compulsory registration of land since the 1970s is both disappointing and regrettable.  It means that the new Authority now faces a considerable challenge in developing a strategy for achieving a decisive shift towards the registration of title system within a reasonable time frame. 

Nonetheless, it is the Government's view that increased registration of ownership of land has now become a pressing and urgent task.  The reason for this sense of urgency is the Law Reform Commission's assessment that a comprehensive system of electronic conveyancing of land can only operate in respect of registered land. 

eConveyancing has, I believe, the capacity to simplify the conveyancing process and reduce costs for all those involved in property transactions and it is, therefore, a prize worth striving for.

As it moves towards addressing the challenge of extending compulsory registration in its first strategic plan, I would encourage the Authority to be ambitious.  In particular, while the new Act provides a broader range of possibilities for gradually extending compulsory registration of title, this does not mean that the more radical approach already followed in Northern Ireland of introducing it to all remaining counties on a specified future date should not be seriously considered by the Authority.

Progress in extending compulsory registration will undoubtedly depend on the active support and commitment of all stakeholders and I would urge all concerned to support the Authority's future work in this area and to contribute to it in a constructive and positive way.

I want to turn now to the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Bill 2006, currently before the Houses of the Oireachtas, which provides for comprehensive reform of our substantive land and conveyancing laws.  The proposals contained in it are of course complementary to the structural reforms contained in this year's Act which I have already described. 

The background to the Bill - in particular the fact that it is the product of an innovative joint project between my Department and the Law Reform Commission - is already well known.  I want to take this opportunity again to thank the Law Reform Commission, and especially the Hon Justice Mrs Catherine McGuinness and the other Commissioners, as well as Professor John Wylie for their enthusiastic commitment to, and support for the joint project.

I have no need to remind this audience that land law is complex - even baffling at times - and our current law can really only be understood in an historical context.

Land is a finite and scarce resource and prior to the development of a money-based economy, it was by far the most important source of wealth. Not only that, land ownership was a key determinant of social standing and political influence and power.  Not surprisingly, those who were fortunate enough to own land sought over the centuries to ensure that it remained within the family from one generation to the next.  Nevertheless a new class of wealth emerged in the aftermath of the industrial revolution and barriers to the operation of a free market in land were gradually removed. Eventually, by the end of the 19th century, land had come to be seen as another, but no longer the pre-eminent, source of wealth and prestige.

It is hardly surprising therefore that the development of land law and conveyancing practices over the centuries reflected these societal tensions as well as economic and social changes.  Moreover, in our case there has been the additional experience of conquest, dispossession, plantation and finally repossession. 

Conquest by the Normans in the 12th century led to the gradual introduction of the feudal system of land ownership and, eventually, by the beginning of the 17th century, displacement of the old brehon laws.  From the 16th century onwards confiscation of land from the native owners was accompanied by successive plantations of English and Scottish settlers. The late 19th century witnessed improvements in the rights of tenants and eventually, restoration of much of the country's agricultural land to tenant farmers under various land purchase schemes.
 
In so far as land and conveyancing law is concerned, the legacy of our history is a complex mixture of statutory provisions, common law and equity.  Successive layers of old statute law, the judge-made rules of the common law courts, and equitable rights and remedies developed by the chancery courts in response to shortcomings in the common law, have resulted in an unnecessarily complex code, much of which is difficult to apply to modern conditions.

The overriding aim of the new legislation therefore is to update and modernise this law in order to meet the needs of a vibrant market economy in the 21st century.

Since Professor Wylie will deal with the content of the Bill shortly in his keynote address, I do not intend to do so. Nonetheless, I want to say that the Government's objectives in bringing the Bill before the Oireachtas are as follows:


I am pleased to say that the Bill has already received a broad welcome from all sides in the Seanad and, earlier this week, in the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights.  I look forward to continued support for its enactment during the coming weeks and months.

I believe that the far reaching reforms contained in the Bill, together with those already enacted in the Registration of Deeds and Title Act 2006 will bring land, conveyancing and registration law into the 21st century for the benefit of consumers and business.

Finally, may I once again express my appreciation to 'First Law' for organising today's Conference and wish all of you well in your discussions today.