The Gazette 1994

GAZETTE

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M A Y 1994

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Scope of Legal Ad j ud i ca t or Cr i t i cised

A call by the Irish Farm Family Therapy Group (IFFTG), to the Junior Minister for Justice, Willie O'Dea, TD, to withdraw the Solicitors (Amendment) Bill, 1994 because the Bill provided for a Legal Adjudicator who would be appointed by the Law Society and not an independent Legal Ombudsman, was reported in the Sunday Press of 13 March 1994. The Minister and Ted Cunningham, PRO of the IFFTG, debated the issue on the Pat Kenny Show on RTE Radio One on 14 March. Mr. O'Dea defended the provisions concerning the Legal Adjudicator and rejected IFFTG criticism that the provision would permit the Adjudicator to deal only with complaints that were referred to him within two years of the determination of the complaint by the Law Society. Mr. O'Dea claimed that if a longer period were permitted it could lead to the Adjudicator being swamped and thus unable to deal effectively with the matters referred to him. The IFFTG was reported in the Evening Herald of 29 March as calling for the appointment of a Legal Ombudsman and the paper also reported that the Group was supported by Fine Gael TDs, Bernard Allen and Gay Mitchell. Deputy Allen was quoted as saying "the days when any profession can regulate itself are long gone . . . The Law Society is a trade union for solicitors and it should not adjudicate on its own members." Deputy Mitchell said that the Adjudicator should not be paid for by the Law Society. The IFFTG also criticised the cap on Compensation Fund claims provided for in the Bill. On the Pat Kenny Radio Show the Junior Minister pointed out that to date no individual client had claimed a sum of more than £250,000 but said he was open to reconsidering the level of the cap provided for in the Bill. The Cork Examiner and Daily Star of 13 March reported on a picket on the Dáil by the IFFTG to highlight its

dissatisfaction with the provisions in the Bill concerning the Legal Adjudicator and the cap on the Compensation Fund. In the article, a spokesperson for the Law Society was quoted as saying "the Law Society takes its responsibilities to regulate the profession very seriously and we are talking only about a small number of people in the profession who fall below the high standards required." An article by a private citizen, Celine Hussey, criticising the Solicitors Bill, was published in the Irish Times on 22 April. She argued that the entire Bill should be withdrawn and replaced with one that paid serious regard to protecting clients interests and provided for a workable system of complaints by way of a Legal Ombudsman paid by the State, which would reduce or even eliminate the Law Society's power to determine clients' complaints. In an article in the Irish Times of 26 April, the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Willie O'Dea TD, defended the Bill. He said he believed that the many provisions in the Bill, which were aimed at benefiting clients, would help to restore public confidence in the complaints machinery for the profession which was "unfortunately lacking at present". Proposal to 'Cap' Personal Injury Awards The Irish Independent of 24 February and the Daily Star of 25 February reported that, according to the latest figures from the Department of Enterprise and Employment, the average cost of motor insurance claims in Ireland was more than four times that of the UK. The article in the Independent said that it was understood that the Minister of State for Commerce and Technology, Seamus Brennan TD, intended to introduce a schedule of damages for specific injuries. The article quoted Aidan Cassells, Chief Executive of the

Irish Insurance Federation, as saying that our insurance premiums were likely to stay well ahead of the European average until Mr. Brennan made progress on his proposed cap on personal injury awards. Both articles noted that the Law Society had signalled strong resistance to any capping of court awards. Inside Business, the journal of the Chambers of Commerce in Ireland, published an article in its April issue in which the Minister for Commerce and Technology and the Director General of the Law Society set out their views on the proposal to 'cap' personal injury awards. The Minister argued that insurance costs were a major penalty on Irish firms and adversely impacted on their competitiveness and ability to create and sustain employment. He said that he would not proceed with his initiative unless he was satisfied that significant savings could be achieved and would be passed on to policy holders. Noel Ryan reiterated the Law Society's view that 'capping' of compensation awards was not the right approach because it would be unjust to victims of accidents. He said that before the Minister published his proposals, he must explain precisely how he could guarantee to the Irish public that insurance costs would come down if awards were reduced. The national daily newspapers on 23 April quoted the President of the Chambers of Commerce in Ireland, Dr. Pat Loughrey, as saying that pain and suffering awards which represented about 80% of personal injuries costs were out of line with Europe and should be capped. He asked: "how can Ireland claim its right to structural funds on the basis of our low income per capita and then pay out awards on insurance claims three and four times the amounts of our wealthier European neighbours?" He welcomed Minister Brennan's proposal but noted that the

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