IRELAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Diarmuid Mawe, Craig Kenny, Katelin Toomey and William Fogarty, Maples Group
Land Registry and all relevant particulars are entered on folios that form the registers that the Land Registry maintains. In conjunction with the folios, the Land Registry also maintains maps (referred to as filed plans). Both folios and filed plans are kept in electronic form. The Registry of Deeds provides a system of vol - untary registration for deeds that affect property. The purpose was to give priority to registered deeds over unregistered but “registrable” deeds. There is no statutory obligation to register a deed in the Registry of Deeds, although failure to do so may result in a loss of priority. Tailte Éireann (which launched in March 2023) is the state organisation responsible for the reg - istration of property transactions in Ireland and encompasses both the Land Registry and the Registry of Deeds. Tailte Éireann also provides national mapping and surveying infrastructure and a property valuation service for Ireland. Title insurance is used in property transactions in Ireland but is not widespread. While the use of electronic signatures has increased in Ireland, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the transfer of Irish real estate is still required to be effected by way of original wet ink signature. The Electronic Commerce Act 2000 (the “E-Commerce Act”) governs the use of elec - tronic or digital signatures in Ireland. Previously, interests in land were specifically excluded from the ambit of the E-Commerce Act. However, the Electronic Commerce Act 2000 (Applica - tion of Sections 12 to 23 to Registered Land) Regulations 2022 (the “Regulations”) amended the E-Commerce Act and allowed for the legal recognition of the electronic execution of docu - ments dealing with interests in registered land. Notwithstanding the Regulations, practice has
not yet changed in Ireland as the Land Registry – while welcoming the introduction of the Regu - lations – has clarified that it is not currently in a position to accept electronic or digital signatures on documents submitted to it for registration. Ultimately, Land Registry practice will dictate whether electronic signatures are acceptable on documents relating to real estate interests. An exception to this is the contract for sale which may be executed by electronic signature. While it was possible to use an electronic signature to execute contracts previously, the 2023 Law Society of Ireland General Conditions (the “Gen - eral Conditions”) provide express confirmation of the parties’ consent to electronic exchange of contracts, the use of counterparts and the potential to use electronic signatures. As with all the General Conditions, this condition can be amended in a contract for sale by a special condition. 2.4 Real Estate Due Diligence A buyer’s lawyer will investigate the seller’s title to the property pre-contract to ensure the buyer will acquire a good marketable title. The under - lying principle is one of caveat emptor (“buyer beware”). The Law Society of Ireland produces a template contract for sale for property transactions. This requires the seller to list the documentation and searches to be provided in relation to the proper - ty and incorporates the General Conditions. The General Conditions make assumptions about the property and place certain disclosure obligations on a seller, which the seller can only exclude by inserting a bespoke special condition in the contract for sale. In this way, the buyer should be on notice of any deviations from the template. In commercial property transactions, it is normal for the seller to seek to limit the warranties being provided in the General Conditions. Where the
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