192 / 244
GAZETTE
SEPTEMBER 1979
Correspondence
re:
CIVIL LIABILITY ACT
Sir,
I wish to write to you in connection with the Civil
Liability Act of 1961 and in particular that part of the
Act which deals with fatal injuries.
Nowadays with the growth of commerce in Ireland,
there has been an increasing number of deaths in
industrial life. In addition to this, there have been a
growing number of deaths on our roads. Among the
deaths on our roads, there have been an increasing
number of deaths affecting children up to the age of 21.
According to the Civil Liability Act, 1961, the amount
of damages which a judge or jury may award to the
dependants of the deceased is limited to £1,000 in relation
to mental distress.
In my opinion, this figure of £1,000 has not kept pace
with inflation and you will appreciate that this Act has
been on the books since 1961 and the amount has never
been increased to date. I would suggest to the
Government and to the Law Reform Commission that the
amount of £1,000 which is presently being awarded by
the Courts is totally unrealistic in the present age and
should be increased as soon as possible to at least
£10,000.
The position is this, that under the present Act if a
young child of say, 12 years of age is killed on the motor-
way, the amount which the next of kin can claim is the
sum of £1,000 towards mental distress plus funeral
expenses and other small incidentals.
One could argue that the parents' loss in terms of
money, time, care and love could easily be measured in
the sum of £12,000.
Accordingly, until such time as the Act is properly
amended I would suggest to parents that they adequately
insure their children; otherwise, if any of their children are
killed in a road accident, they could suffer a very large
loss indeed.
Yours faithfully,
John J. Madigan.
6 Woodlawn Crescent,
Churchtown,
Dublin 14.
20 November 1979.
re:
LOSS OF WILLS
Dear Sir,
With reference to the Probate Officer's letter in the
October
Gazette
would it be an idea to establish (either in
the Probate office or in Blackhall Place) a repository for
copy wills? The procedure would simply be that, having
drawn a will, the solicitor would place a photocopy in a
sealed envelope and send it to the repository, retaining the
original in his own strong room, safe or whatever.
The purpose of the exercise would be that, should the
original will be inadvertently destroyed, lost, stolen, or in
some other way become permanently mislaid, proof of the
will would at least be facilitated.
Revocation of wills, or addition of codicils, would not
necessarily pose any problems. Given an adequate
register in the repository it would be a simple matter for
the solicitors to withdraw a copy will and substitute
therefor a copy of the new will (if any). Nor would secrecy
b? breached since copy wills would be kept in properly
sealed envelopes.
The Probate Officer's letter breaks down the 1978 and
1979 applications. In all the cases cited, production, from
some such official repository as is suggested, of a photo-
copy of the will in question would surely be of assistance
to the Probate Judge when considering the application.
Doubtless snags can be found in this suggestion but in
view of the increasing number of Lost Will cases illus-
trated by the Probate Officer — not to mention the con-
cern of solicitors whose offices may have been burgled or
gone on fire — some such system would be at least a
help in such fatalities.
Yours truly,
C.
P. Crowley.
C.
P. Crowley & Co., Solicitors,
9 Eyre Square, Galway.
27 November 1979.
FORMING
A COMPANY?
Why Worry?
The Law Society provides a quick service
based on a standard form of Memorandum
and Articles of Association. Where necessary
the standard form can be amended, at an
extra charge, to suit the special requirements
of any individual case.
In addition to private companies limited by
shares, the service will also form —
• Unlimited companies.
• Companies limited by guarantee.
• Shelf companies, company seals and
record books are available at competitive
rates.
Full information is available from:
COMPANY FORMATION SERVICE
INCORPORATED LAW SOCIETY OF
IRELAND
BLACKHALL PLACE, DUBLIN.
Tel. 710711. Telex 31219 ILAW EI.
NATIONWIDE INVESTIGATIONS
LIMITED
Working in closest co-operation with the
Legal Profession
126 Broadford Rise
Ballinteer, Dublin 16
01-989964
195