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VOL. 87 NO. 2
JULY/AUGUST 1993
The Lean Arm of the Law
In the
Irish Independent
of 22 June,
1993 in an article entitled "The Lean
Arm of the Law",
Liz Allen
reported
on the findings of an "unpublished
Law Society survey" which showed
that many lawyers were struggling
financially. She commented that the
fact that 82% of the respondents
wanted new guidelines on fees was
testimony to a large degree of
dissatisfaction among practitioners
throughout the country about their
earnings capacity.
Crisis in the Administration of
Justice
An address by the Chairman of the
Bar Council,
Peter Shanley
SC, in
which he criticised the lack of
resources in the courts was reported in
the print and broadcast media on 16
June, 1993. The
Irish Independent
and
Daily Star
of 19 June, 1993, reported
on the call to judges by the President
of the Law Society,
Raymond
Monahan
, to speak out about the
country's inadequate courts system.
There were huge delays in all the
courts, facilities across the board were
completely inadequate and there had
been a complete failure to address the
reform of our law seriously, said
Raymond Monahan.
Law Society Criticises Tax Amnesty
Legislation
A submission by the Law Society to
the Minister for Finance criticising the
proposed tax amnesty legislation as
being draconian and rushed and
pointing out that the amnesty was
mandatory, was reported in the
Irish
NORTHERN IRELAND
AGENT
* Initial Consultation Free
* All forms of work undertaken
* Competitive Rates
* Consultation in Dublin if requested
* Legal Aid Available
Contact:
Kevin J. Neary BCL
Donnelly Neary & Donnelly
Solicitors
1 Downshire Road, Newry,
County Down
Tel: (080693)64611
Fax: (080693) 67000
Independent
and
Irish Times
of 2 July,
1993. The Senior Vice President of
the Society,
Michael O'Mahony
, was
interviewed on the RTE radio
News at
One
programme, the RTE radio
Today
at
Five programme and the evening
TV and radio news bulletins of that
day. Michael O'Mahony pointed out
that the Bill had been rushed through
the Dail with insufficient time for
debate or to consider amendments. He
drew attention to the mandatory
nature of prison sentences provided
for in the Bill which, he said,
interfered with the discretion of the
courts as to how such offences should
be punished.
Michael O'Mahony, Senior Vice
President Law Society, criticised tax
amnesty legislation as "draconian and
rushed"
On the RTE Radio current affairs
programme.
This Week
on Sunday, 4
July, 1993, the Minister for Finance,
Bertie Ahern,
said he would
reconsider this aspect of the
legislation. An amendment was
subsequently adopted which provided
for mandatory prison sentences only
where the offences committed
concerned sums of £100,000 or more.
Barbara Cahalane
(~J
In Ireland
COT DEATH
is the
largest killer of children under the
age of two. The Irish Sudden
Infant Death Association supports
bereaved families and funds cot
death research. If your client
wishes to make a will in favour of
Cot Death Research
further information is available from
I S I D A
Carmichael House,
4 North Brunswick Street, Dublin 7.
Telephone: 8747007 / 8732711
Practice Notes
(Continued from page 206)
Confusion re Law Library
Fax Number
There is an increasing incidence of
faxes intended for barristers in the
Law Library at the Four Courts being
sent to the Law Society's library.
These faxes can contain highly
confidential and sensitive material.
While the staff in the library of the
Law Society make every effort to
notify solicitors of their error and to
destroy the information, nonetheless,
solicitors and their staff are requested
to exercise care that the correct fax
number is used when material is
being faxed to the Law Library in the
Four Courts.
The fax number for the Law Library
in the Four Courts is 8720455. The
fax number for the
Law Society's
Library
is 6770511. Please note these
two fax numbers carefully.
Family Home Declarations
- Correction
Practitioners are requested to note
that averment No. 2 of Form 3 of the
Family Home Declarations, circulated
with the June, 1993 issue of the
Gazette
should read as follows:
"The property is not our family home
within the meaning of that term in the
Family Home Protection Act, 1976
nor is it the family home of any other
person. Neither we, nor any other
married couple, have ordinarily
resided therein since we became the
owners thereof. Our family home is at
in the County of
The property does not include any
garden or portion of ground attached
to or usually occupied with our family
home or otherwise required for the
amenity or convenience of our family
home."
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