The Gazette 1973

fully adapted to the Society's needs, and that the cost of such adaptation and of the future running costs of Kings Hospital will be within the Society's resources and will not entail the imposition of any levy on our members. I would like to conclude with an expression of my sincere appreciation of the services given by my two vice-presidents and members of the Council during the year and also the secretariat and staff of the Society. Without this support I could not have discharged the duties of my office and I would like to take this oppor- tunity of placing on record my sincere appreciation of everyone who has helped me in carrying out what has proved to be an onerous task. We are very sorry to lose the services of Mr. Finnegan who has notified us he is leaving at the end of the year, and we wish him every success in the future. The motion was seconded by Mr. T. V. O'Connoi. Discussion A discussion followed in which Messrs Crivon, Buckley, McCarron, O'Beirn, T. C. G. O'Mahony and Carroll Moran participated. Amongst the points raised were : Mr. Crivon deprecated any easing of restrictions in regard to apprentices on the ground that they had no practical experience when they qualified, and he was against admitting those who were not fully trained. The Society should press for more urgent law reform, and it was essential that the costs of litigation should be kept up with the cost of living. The President, in reply, stated he was opposed to a closed shop for apprentices, and that there was undue delay on the part of statutory bodies in recommending increases in costs. Mr. John Buckley was pleased to note that it was not proposed to continue to lecture to apprentices in this hall, where the acoustics were unsatisfactory. He asked whether it would be possible to separate the registration functions of the Society from its other functions. Mr. T. C. Gerard O'Mahony mentioned Auditor's Certificates and EEC Regulations; the President pointed out that these regulations would shortly be available in the Library. Mr. Carroll Moran suggested that Latin could hence- forth be dispensed with as a subject in the Preliminary Examination. The President replied to the various points raised. The motion for the adoption of the report was put to the meeting and carried unanimously. Thursday 29th November 1973 was appointed as the date of the next Annual General Meeting. Mr. Buckley then moved that the senior vice- President take the chair. Mr. T. V. O'Connor took the chair and Mr. Buckley proposed a vote of thanks to the President for his distinguished services to the Society during his year of office. Mr. O'Connor, vice- Preident, associated himself with the motion which was then put to the meeting and carried with acclamation.

vaious offences, and it is estimated that another 2,500 are under supervision at home for delinquency. The numbers of State departments and other Bodies dealing with these children, all of whom can safely be classified as "deprived", is far too many. The Department of Health, the Department of Education and the Depart- ment of Justice, between them take responsibility for reformatories, industrial schools, children's homes, the probation service, the special prison for juveniles and the Juvenile liason scheme of the Gardai, while volun- tary Bodies like the Adoption Societies and the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children do their share in the provision of adoptive parents and in trying to keep a broken home together. Could anybody but a lunatic suggest that in this tortuous way we are realistic in coping with this problem of our deprived children; could anybody but a fool suggest that with all these Services so inextricably interrelated, immediate action is not needed in the joint spheres of overall planning and legal reform under the aegis of one responsible Minister and department. Planning and Development Legislation Another important subject requiring legal reform without delay is our planning and development legisla- tion. Proposed amendments have been submitted by An Taisce, the Dublin Civic Group and other Bdoes and they have recently paid our Society the compliment of asking us to consider them. Too many gaps exist in our existing legislation through which those with little or no regard for the beauty of our countryside or the dignity of our cities can all too easily wriggle, and the manner in which these gaps can be plugged is surely a job that should be happily undertaken by our Society, and I have no hesitation in recommending to your newly elected Council that this is a matter that should be placed high on its list of priorities. The Provincial Solicitors' Association has recently drawn my attention to another matter which, though of relatively small importance, does need to be changed. I refer to the provision in the Superior Courts Rules which makes it incumbent on any Solicitor who seeks to have a High Court Action remitted for hearing to the High Court on Circuit in a particular area to bring a Motion to remit therefor. Surely it should be suffi- cient for the purpose to lodge a simple form of Consent, signed by both the Plaintiff's and Defendant's Solicitors, in the Central Office of the High Court and have the case remitted without incurring the unnecessary expense that the present system entails. Kings Hospital Members are constantly enquiring as to what is happening about Kings Hospital, and all I can do at the moment is to resort to the use of one of our well- known modern cliches, and say: "Negotiations at the moment are at a delicate stage". Members may how- ever be assured that if the Society decides to dispose of the property, any liability incurred to date is likely to be amply covered. If, on the other hand, the Society should decide to move into Kings Hospital, they will ensure, before doing so, that the new building will be

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