asked the Minister for Justice the number of staff employed in each grade in the Land Registry office on 1 November 1982, 1 November 1983, 1 November 1984 and 1 November 1985; the number of (a) section 49 applications and (b) applications for transfer of property pending in this office on each of the above mentioned dates; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

(Limerick East): I propose to circulate the statistics requested to the extent available in the Official Report.

In the period referred to in the question the total number of staff employed in the Land Registry fell from 496 to 451. The authorised staffing level settled on the basis of the overall volume of work in 1980 was 541. In the years since 1980 the overall volume of work in each year has been above the 1980 figure. Despite the increased workload and the decreasing number of staff every effort is made to finalise applications as quickly as possible.

The number of staff employed in each grade in the Land Registry on the dates in question is as follows:

Applications for registration of title are categorised under two headings:—

(i) applications in respect of registered land, known as dealings, which include transfers of property and

(ii) applications for first registration, which include section 49 cases. (Section 49 applications account for approximately 55 per cent of the applications in this category).

The information requested in respect of those two categories, is as follows:—

Number of applications pending.

I must now move to Priority Question No. 34.