Staff shortages delaying office transactions
Taylor cited long delays in the Land Registry and Probate Office and asked why adequate staffing was not provided. O’Keeffe disputed that delays necessarily resulted from staff shortages and said those offices were under the Justice Minister’s control.
Arising out of the Minister's reply when he stated that the object of the exercise was to have an efficient Civil Service, would the Minister explain the rationale of not supplying an adequate degree of staff to deal with those categories expeditiously having regard to the fact that a full commercial rate is charged to the members of the public and that it is self-financing; and when in Land Registry, for example, as a result of staff shortages because of this embargo, it takes anything from months to years to complete a transaction? Likewise, in the Probate Office it takes approximately five months to get out a grant of probate that might be urgently required?
Comment on this
The Deputy pre-supposes that any delay in these areas relates to lack of staff. That should not be taken as read in relation to the areas mentioned. These are, of course, under the direction and control of the Minister for Justice and while we in the Department of the Public Service have an overall role in relation to the overall number of any particular allocation within the areas under a certain Minister's responsibilities, it is a matter for him.