If, as the Minister says, the Land Registry is self-sufficient so that the fees intake covers the cost of administration why is it that additional staff are not taken on in the Land Registry so that transactions can be dealt with and completed within a reasonable time instead of members of the public having to put up with very long delays for many months before transactions are completed?

May I ask the Minister when he is replying to Deputy Taylor if he would agree that the Land Registry is being run at a very substantial profit at a time when the delays are unacceptable because of insufficient staff? Will he apply some of the profit made in the Land Registry in the employment of further staff so that the ordinary man dealing with the Land Registry may get a proper service?

The subject matter of those two supplementaries are for answer by way of separate questions later on in the Order Paper of today and I will deal with them then.

In the light of the Minister's reply that he is not prepared at this stage to review the operation of fees in the Land Registry, what action is he going to take in view of the crisis that exists at present? Does the Minister realise that it is now taking a period of ten weeks to photocopy a map for the registered owner, being a consumer and a member of the public? Is the Minister not further aware that it is taking up to three years to complete an application for a first registration and that a simple transfer of a site in an area where the land had been registered some years ago is taking up to 18 months? Is the Minister prepared to accept that there is a crisis in the Land Registry and having regard to the self-supporting nature of the scheme what is he going to do about it?

If the Deputy based his supplementary on a misunderstanding I apologise to him if I was responsible. I am at present considering the introduction of a new fees order early in 1989 to cover the cost of additional staffing which is due to be assigned to the Land Registry by way of redeployment and increasing costs. Should the Deputy have in mind the appropriateness of the fee for any specific type of transaction I am prepared to have it examined in the context of that exercise.

Deputy McGahon rose.

Order, I think the House will agree we have made very little progress on Questions today. I have spent an undue length of time on the Questions preceding and I want to make a little more progress. There are two Deputies offering and if they will be very brief I will hear them.