348 / 432
GAZETTEAUGUST/SEPTE
Civil Legal Aid
On-going negotiations with the
Department of Equality and Law
Reform with a view to securing a
comprehensive civil legal
aid scheme.
Compensation Fund
Detailed review of the operation
of the Compensation Fund and
options for the future. A special
committee was established and
met on nineteen occasions, for a
total of seventy-two hours. A
lengthy report, putting forward
eighty recommendations, was
approved by the Council in
June 1994.
Probate Tax
Participation in the Alliance
Against Probate Tax and
correspondence with the Minister
for Finance in opposition to
the tax.
Appointments in the Attorney
General's Office/Department of
Social Welfare
Correspondence with Government
Ministers, Department officials
and the Civil Service Commission
objecting to
(a) the non-eligibility of
solicitors for appointment to
advertised legal positions in
the Attorney General's Office,
and
(b) the restricted eligibility of
State-employed solicitors for
advertised legal positions in
the Department of Social
Welfare,
resulting, in respect of (b) in a
commitment from the Civil
Service Commission to consider
the issues raised by the Society
in the context of future
appointments.
Professional Indemnity
Insurance
Establishment of a special
committee to investigate and
advise on the introduction of
compulsory professional
indemnity insurance.
Cross-border practice
1. A protocol on cross-border
practice between the Law
Societies of Northern Ireland,
England and Wales, Scotland
and Ireland was developed
over the period under review
and was approved by the
!
Council in July 1994.
2. Discussions in relation to a
draft protocol on cross-border
practice between the Northern
Ireland Law Society and the
Incorporated Law Society of
Ireland are on-going.
Proposed Legislation
1. Submission to the Minister for
Finance in relation to the
Finance Bill, 1994 and the
1995 Budget.
2. Submission to the Department
of Enterprise and Employment
j
on the Consumer Credit Bill,
1994, resulting in amendments
to the Bill and a saving of
£500,000 per annum to the
profession.
3. Correspondence with the
Department of Equality and
Law Reform regarding
proposed equal status
legislation in non-employment
areas.
4. Correspondence with the
Department of Justice
regarding the EU Data
Protection Draft Directive.
5. Observations on the Criminal
Procedure Bill 1993.
6. Observations on the Criminal
Justice (No. 3) Bill 1993.
!
7. Participation in the production
of a report presented to the
Minister for Finance in
relation to the regulation of
investment intermediaries.
8. Submission to the Minister for
Equality and Law Reform on
the proposals contained in the
White Paper on Marital
Breakdown.
9. Discussions and submissions
to the Department of
Agriculture in relation to legal
aspects of the Early Retirement i
Scheme for farmers.
.10. Discussions with the
Department of Equality and
Law Reform in relation to the
conveyancing aspects of the
Family Law Bill, 1994.
11. Discussions with the
Department of the
Environment in relation to the
introduction of the amnesty
contained in recent planning
legislation.
12. Representations to the
Department of Agriculture
with regard to dispensing with
the need for section 12
consents on the establishment
of the new local authority
areas in Dublin.
13. Discussions and submission on
the Arbitration (Amendment)
Bill, 1994.
14. Submission to the European
Commission in relation to
the draft Establishment
Directive.
15. Consideration of a draft of a
General Scheme of Arbitration i
Bill prepared by the Advisory
Group on Civil Law Reform.
16. Detailed consideration of the
provisions of the Matrimonial
Home Bill 1993.
17. Submission to the Minister for
Enterprise and Employment on
the Competition (Amendment)
Bill, 1994.
Practice Notes
The following Practice Notes
were circulated to the profession
during the period under review:-
(a) Revenue Undertakings -
Publicans' Licences
(b) Residential Property
Tax/Probate Tax -
Requisitions on Title
(c) Local Authority - Shared
Ownership Scheme