The Gazette 1994

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GAZETTE

APRIL 1994

Deba te commences on Sol ici tors Bill

The President of the Law Society, Michael V. O'Mahony, was interviewed on the RTE1 TV Marketplace programme on 9 March. Welcoming the Government's decision to drop the sections on conveyancing and probate, Michael O'Mahony said that the decision was in the public interest and not just the interests of the solicitors' profession. He emphasised that importance of people having access to independent legal advice when engaging in major transactions. It was important for a client, for example, in a house purchase, to engage the services of a solicitor who would act in and guard the client's - and only the client's - interest throughout the transaction. The commencement of the debate in the Dail on the second stage of the Solicitors (Amendment) Bill, 1994, coincided with scrutiny by the Dail Public Accounts Committee of the level of fees paid to barristers appearing for the State at the Beef Tribunal. All the national daily papers of 11 March reported the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Willie O'Dea TD, at the commencement of the second stage debate, describing the bill as a major reforming measure which was intended to provide a modern framework for the profession. It was prepared, he said, against a background of persistent public concern about the way complaints were dealt with by the Law Society and about difficulties in obtaining redress against solicitors for negligence, shoddy work and overcharging. The Bill was strongly criticised by the Fine Gael spokesman on justice, Gay Mitchell TD, who denounced the high level of fees charged by members of the legal profession. Mr. Mitchell said the Bill was a staid and disappointing piece of legislation and there were only a few parts of the Bill which had not been written by the Law Society, but these Tribunal fees cloud debate

had now been jettisoned following the intervention of the Fianna Fail lawyers in the house. A front-page story in the Evening Herald of 11 March 1994, entitled "Bill to cap legal fees" reported that the Minister of State, Willie O'Dea, TD, had conceded that growing pressure to introduce legislation to regulate the Bar would have to be addressed. He said that personally he believed there was a need to regulate the Bar but that the matter was one for the Government as a whole to consider. Writing in the Irish Times of 12 March, political correspondent, Denis Coughlan, said: "the decision to retain the legal profession's monopoly in this area [probate and conveyancing] was taken without consultation with the Labour Party Coughlan also reported comments by the Fine Gael justice spokesperson, Gay Mitchell TD, when Mr. Mitchell argued that there was a clear conflict of interest between the duties of the Law Society to represent solicitors while, at the same time, protecting the public. Mr. Mitchell asked for an independent body to be appointed to represent the consumer. The Sunday Independent of 13 March 1994, reported the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Willie O'Dea, as defending his decision not to allow banks to become involved in the provision of conveyancing and probate services. Mr. O'Dea said banks and insurance companies could have found themselves with a serious conflict of interest. He highlighted the provisions in the Bill which would allow for greater competition and would benefit the consumer such as the fact that the Law Society would be able to deal with complaints about fees and that solicitors would be I allowed to advertise their fees which, he claimed, would give people a better (Continued overleaf) and is, even now, a matter for discussion at Cabinet". Denis

Changes to the Solicitors Bill and the commencement of the second stage debate of the legislation in Dail Eireann attracted much attention in the print media during the period under review. Government changes its mind on conveyancing and probate Following reports in the media on 24 ! February (see Mediawatch, March | Gazette, Vol. 88 No. 2) that the Government had decided to drop | provisions in the Solicitors Bill which would have permitted banks and other | financial institutions to provide conveyancing and probate services, decision was coming "under fire" i from the banks, consumer groups and the Mortgage Holders Association. In a special report on law, the Sunday i Business Post of February 27, j published an interview with the President of the Law Society, Michael V. O'Mahony, in which he welcomed the decision. The article pointed out that the Law Society had expressed grave reservations about the future of j the 15,000 people employed as support staff in legal practices throughout the country if banks, | building societies, credit unions and insurance companies had been permitted to do conveyancing and probate work. A one-page feature article in the Irish Press of 3 March 1994, focused on the Government's decision to drop the provision and it quoted the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Willie O 'Dea TD, as saying that the reason for his change of heart was that he wanted to keep the work within the ambit of the legal profession in order to maintain jobs in the sector. He said ! he was aware that probate and conveyancing work was the bread and butter of many solicitors' practices throughout the country. j ! ' the newspapers of 25 February reported that the Government's j j

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