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GAZETTE
matter. The Council considered what
further action should be taken. It was
agreed that the Society had handled the
matter well to date both in terms of the
media response, in arranging to have the
matter raised in the Dáil and in
complaining strongly at the highest
level of the Garda. There was little
further that could be done at present in
the circumstances.
7. Potential restriction on practising
as a sole practitioner
Section 37 of the
Solicitors
(Amendment) Act, 1994
contains a
potential restriction on practising as a
sole practitioner for up to three years
following admission as a solicitor. The
Society's position has been that Section
37 is inoperative without the
introduction of regulations prescribing a
period. It was agreed that the matter
should be re-examined and if necessary
that a legal opinion could be obtained
on a point of interpretation.
8. Reciprocal arrangements with
Pennsylvania Bar Association
The Society had received a query from
the Department of Justice in relation to
the issue of reciprocity between this
jurisdiction and that of Pennsylvania
and subsequently the jurisdiction of the
New York Bar Association. This was a
complicated matter which the Education
Committee had now researched and in
relation to which it was making a
recommendation to Council. It was
agreed that the matter be adjourned to
the November Council meeting for
further consideration.
9. Review of Criminal Legal Aid
Scheme
The Minister for Justice was
establishing a committee to review the
operation of the Criminal Legal Aid
Scheme and the Council approved
the appointment of Mr James MacGuill
as the Society's representative on
the committee.
10. Legal Aid Board private
practitioners' scheme
Earlier in the year the Society had
informed the Legal Aid Board that it
NOVEMBER 1996
would not support the Board's scheme
on the basis that the standard fee of
£120 plus VAT proposed by the Board
was totally inadequate. The amount
could not possibly represent an
economic return for any solicitor
conducting a District Court case. It was
wrong in principle that a professional
could be employed for such a fixed fee
regardless of the amount of work
involved. However, the Council had
agreed that the matter should be left up
to individual solicitors. The scheme had
now come into operation and it seemed
that some practitioners would
participate in it regardless of the
Society's view.
11. Apparent end of "capping"
proposal
The Chairman of the Litigation
Committee, Mr Ernest Cantillon,
reported that the Deloitte & Touche
report on insurance costs in Ireland had
been published recently. In accordance
with the position for which the Society
had been lobbying for over two years,
the "capping" proposal had been
rejected and the report contained a
number of findings of which the
solicitors' profession approved. It
appeared that the Government had
accepted the Deloitte & Touche
conclusions. The President on behalf of
the Council warmly thanked Mr
Cantillon and all others who had
assisted in successfully persuading the
Deloitte & Touche consultants to reach
conclusions which were in line with the
views of the solicitors' profession and
the interests of justice.
12. Motion for Council Meeting on
15 November 1996
"That this Council approves the
terms of the attached draft Statutory
Instrument in relation to the
Solicitors' Practice Management and
Development Course and, subject to
the concurrence of the Minister for
Justice, resolves that it be enacted to
be effected from 1 April 1997".
Proposer:
Pat O'Connor
Seconder:
Terence McCrann
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