The Gazette 1996

128 / 448

APRIL/MAY 1996
Pictured at the recent Burren Law School held at Newtown Castle, Ballyvaughan were l-r:
judge Gerard J. Houghton, Her Honour Judge Catherine McGuinness, Brian Sheridan, Convener
and Dr. Muireann Nf Bhrolcáin.
Lawl i nk ' 9 6 Launched
brochure, which should now contain
details of the destination, transport,
accommodation, passport and visa
requirements, price, taxes, bonding and
so forth. In particular a package
organiser or tour operator cannot avoid
liability for any misleading or false
information contained in a brochure
and to my mind this would include
photographs. A holidaymaker now has
the statutory right to compensation if he
or she relied on information which
proves subsequently to be misleading
or false. Recent legislation also sets out
detailed requirements as to the essential
terms and form of the package contract.
; Complaints
An important aspect to the recent
legislation is the fact that holiday
makers are now required to make
| complaints "at the earliest opportunity"
both to the person responsible for their
dissatisfaction and to the package
organiser or local representative. To
avoid doubt the complaint should be in
writing. Once the complaint has been
made the package organiser is then
obliged to make prompt efforts to find
a solution. Complaints should be made
no later than 28 days from the
completion of the package holiday.
I Conclusion
I have only set out some of the more
interesting and practical aspects of the
recent legislation and I would comment
that the legislation deals with many
other aspects of 'holiday law'. In
reality, I would imagine it will take
some time before the full consequences
of the recent legislation become
apparent. As many cases are dealt with
privately through Arbitration rather
than the more public forum of the
courts, I would welcome the thoughts
of practitioners with a view to writing a
follow-up article at a later date.
•
Learn to sail and have an
enjoyable holiday
at reasonable rates.
Write / Phone for brochure.
Baltimore Sailing School,
Baltimore, Co. Cork.
Ph. (028) 20141
Lawlink '96, a revolutionary new
information service for solicitors,
accountants and financial institutions
was launched recently by the
Minister for Justice, Nora Owen
T.D.
The new service offers fast and
secure on-line access by computer to
Land Registry files, the Companies
Office, the Legal Diary and other
relevant legal databases. In addition,
Lawlink provides secure electronic
mail (LawMail). The service is
70% owned by IFG Group Pic with
the Law Society of Ireland
holding 30%.
Lawlink '96 has been designed
following extensive feedback and
liaison with people in the legal and
financial professions to discover
their exact needs from an on-line
information service and to couple
these needs with the best technology
currently available.
The software brings technology to
all relevant staff and users regardless
of their computer expertise thanks to
a user friendly interface. It also
reduces costs by seamlessly
integrating with organisations'
existing computer technology.
"Lawlink '96 promises to
revolutionise the way information
within these professions is
communicated, accessed and
scheduled," according to Frank
Ryan, Chief Executive, Lawlink.
"Using Lawlink, offices can access
key information on-line in seconds
saving time and resources that would
otherwise be tied up carrying out
these kind of tasks manually. In
addition, Lawlink enables fast and
safe transmission of messages and
documents electronically saving
significant costs in terms of
couriers and postage over
traditional methods of
communication," he said.
For further information contact
Lawlink Ltd, 19 Fitzwilliam Square,
Dublin 2. Tel: 01 - 6 7 6 2222.
Fax: 01 - 6 7 6 2616.
E-mail: •
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