§ Mr. CONDONasked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he will state the cause of the several increases made during the past year in the charge for copies of folios in the Land Registry; whether he is aware that the charge until recently was 2s. for a copy of each folio, such copies being then issued at the local land registry in each county; that it was decided about six months ago to issue copies only from the Central Land Registry; that the charges were then increased to 3s. per folio, and they were recently further increased to 5s. 6d. per folio; whether, in the case of an application made since the 10th instant to the Central Land Registry for a copy of the folio in the case of Mary Cummins, county Tipperary, where the holding is so small that the redemption value of the Land Commission annuity on it is only about £32, the Central Land Registry have charged 9s. for a copy of 1124W the folio; and what is the justification for the large increase in the charge, which formerly was only 2s per copy in the case of the largest holdings?
§ Mr. SAMUELSThe charges for sealed and certified copies of the folios of the register comprising the titles to registered land in Ireland were found to need revision and were accordingly revised by Order, dated 31st January, 1918, made in pursuance of the Local Registration of Title (Ireland) Act, 1891. Until the publication of this Order the minimum fee for a copy of a folio was 2s., such copies being obtainable from the proper local office for each county or from the central office. It is inaccurate to say that it was decided six months ago to issue copies only from the central office, but it was suggested that the public could be more expeditiously supplied with copies from the central office than from local offices, where the staff is limited. The charges for copying have not been increased since the publication of the above Order. In the case of Mary Commins the fee of 9s. was correctly charged in accordance with that Order. The size or value of the holding to which the title is registered in the land registry has obviously no relation to the fee payable for a copy of the folio comprising such title; the fee depends entirely on the length of the matter to be copied.