The Gazette 1994

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MARCH 1994

P u b l i c a t i on o f S o l i c i t o r s ( A m e n d m e n t ) B i l l , 1 9 9 4

Government to drop sections on probate and conveyancing by banks As we go to press, the indications are that the Government will drop the controversial sections of the recently published Solicitors (Amendment) Bill, 1994 which would have permitted banks and other institutions to have engaged in probate and conveyancing work. Following a meeting of the Fianna Fail Parliamentary Party on 23 February, at which strong opposition to those sections was expressed, the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Willie O'Dea TD, was reported in the Irish Times of 24 February as agreeing that the section should be dropped. The Irish Times also noted that the Taoiseach had expressed reservations about the provisions. The Minister of State was interviewed on Morning Ireland RTE 1 on 24 February and said he was "re-thinking" the provisions. He noted that there was now a much greater number of solicitors in practice than at the time when the Fair Trade Commission had made its recommendations that banks ! and other financial institutions should be allowed to provide conveyancing [ and probate services. All the daily papers on 10 February reported on the publication of the Bill, j focusing in particular on the j Protections for clients in the legislation. The newspapers reported the Minister for Justice, Mrs. Ge °ghegan-Quinn, TD, as describing the Bill as "a major consumer-driven ! satisfied that the consumer protection Provisions were warranted by the behaviour of some solicitors who had damaged the profession's reputation. An editorial in the Irish Independent °f that day entitled "Tough But Justified" said it was regrettable that j the conduct of a "rogue" minority of legislative reform measure." The Minister had said that she was

solicitors had damaged the reputation of the honest and competent majority and necessitated the undoubtedly severe provisions contained in the measure. "But the public must have protection. The Bill supplies it." The Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Willie O'Dea TD, and the Director General of the Society, Noel Ryan , were interviewed on Morning Ireland RTE Radio 1 on 10 February. The Minister of State highlighted the consumer protection elements of the Bill. Noel Ryan stated that the Society welcomed, and had, indeed, sought many of the provisions in the Bill but he criticised the provisions that would allow conveyancing and probate work to be done by financial institutions. He argued that there was already sufficient competition within the solicitors' profession and, furthermore, that the protection in the Bill for clients who would avail of these services from financial institutions were inadequate. There was no evidence of any demand from the public for these services to be opened up to financial institutions. The Minister of State and the Director General were also interviewed on the RTE TV lunchtime and evening news bulletins. The Society's statement in response to the Bill, welcoming certain aspects of the legislation, particularly the limit of £250,000 on claims on the Compensa- tion Fund, but opposing the provisions concerning fee advertising, conveyancing and probate and objecting to the Society having to pay for the Legal Adjudicator, was covered extensively in the Irish Times and Irish Press of 11 February and mentioned briefly in the Irish Independent and Cork Examiner on that day.

February noted that the Law Society intended to continue to campaign against the provisions in the Bill that would permit financial institutions to provide conveyancing and probate services and that the Society was also opposed to the provision which would permit fees advertising. The Irish Independent and Irish Press of 17 February reported that the Government was reconsidering the provision which would place a limit of £250,000 on claims on the Compensation Fund. The articles reported that "Junior Justice Minister, Willie O'Dea TD, had disclosed" that the Government was reconsidering the provision in the light of reaction from consumer groups and might increase the limit to £lm. Proposal to Cap Personal Injuries Awards The RTE Tuesday File programme broadcast on 1 February 1994 examined the growth in personal injuries litigation, the effect of awards on motor insurance premiums and the proposal to place a limit on the amount that could be awarded in compensation for pain and suffering in personal injury claims. The Director General of the Society, Noel Ryan , was interviewed and said the profession "would go to the wire" j in opposition to the proposal. He defended the right of people who had been injured through no fault of their own to be compensated adequately and stated that Irish levels of compensation were fair. The Cork Examiner of 5 February reported briefly on an address to a recent Parchment Ceremony by the President of the Society, Michael V. O'Mahony, in which he had reiterated the Society's opposition to the "capping" proposal. The Society's stance was supported by an editorial in the Clare Champion on 11 February

The Sunday Business Post of 13

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