Two related developments on 11 April
last caught our attention.
Early that Thursday morning the Legal
Services Regulatory Authority announced that it had submitted its report to
the Minister for Justice on the proposal that a new profession of
'conveyancer' might be established.
The Authority concluded that such an
innovation would only be viable as part of a wide range of other
more significant reforms, including digitising conveyancing with
greater use of technology.
Later that day, the Supreme Court
delivered judgment in Maher v
Dublin City Council [2024] IESC
14, a case concerning the
imposition of a derelict sites levy on a property at East Wall in
Dublin.
Digitising conveyancing seems a long
way off when our legislative framework governing the electronic
execution of documents and Land Registry rules still require wet
ink signatures on real estate deeds and other transfer documents.
In fact, over the past number of years the Oireachtas has
