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The Minister's speech was in contrast to one
made on November 5th last by the Minister for
Justice at the annual dinner of the then Irish
Auctioneers' and Estate Agents' Association (now
the Institute). The Minister, Mr. O'Malley, said
then that the Government was considering moves
to reduce the present fees structure in response to
strong public clamour and warned that estate
agents would have to "put their own house in
order" and take a closer look at the fees structure.
At the time, his speech was widely interpreted
within the trade as being an indirect warning that
the Government intended to cut fees.
At the moment, the fees for public auction in
Dublin and the rest of the country are 5% and
for private sales, 5% in the country and
2-\%
within the Dublin Metropolitan area.
Mr. Brennan said yesterday: "Last year my
colleague, Mr. O'Malley, made reference to the
level of fees charged by auctioneers. Naturally his
remarks were not welcomed by everyone in the
profession, but 1 am sure that they have not gone
unheeded.
"Professional fees, and here I am referring not
only to auctioneers' fees — can be regarded as
fair if they are of a level which permits of the
giving of the best possible service to the public
while at the same time providing a reasonable level
of reward, having regard to the degree of re
sponsibility, expertise, education and training re
quired to provide the service and also to the
general level of remuneration in other sectors of
the community.
"If auctioneers can show that their fees, having
regard to these guidelines, are reasonable, the
profession need have no fear of criticism. I would
urge you as a profession to continue in your
efforts to improve your efficiency and your com
petitiveness."
Mr. Brennan is himself an associate member
of the I.A.V.I. and said afterwards that his view
was 'a private one'.
(The Irish Times,
19th February, 1971.)
COMMISSION ON LAW OF MARRIAGE
MOOTED
The establishment of a State Commission on
the civil law of marriage and related areas, such
as birth control, was suggested by Senator John
Kelly (Fine Gael), in Dublin, last night.
The
Senator, who
is
professor with
the
Law School in University College, Dublin, said
that there were very strong arguments of a secular
kind against full divorce legislation, quite inde
pendent of one's religious preconceptions.
He was addressing the Irish Association for
Cultural, Economic and Social Relations in the
Shelbourne Hotel, on
the subject "The Way
Ahead for North and South."
He said, according to a supplied script, that
except for Article 3 of our Constitution, he did
not think any part of our law was of much interest
north of the Border. It would in any case, in a
federal arrangement, not apply there.
"On the one hand," he went on, "we have a
minority within our own borders, and, if they are
in fact being unfairly treated by this State, they
are entitled to have this set right unconditionally,
and not have to wait for incidental crumbs to fall
from the table of a North/South settlement. So
that, even though our local laws are not of primary
interest in the North, the North may well judge
us on how we behave towards those who do not
share the majority faith.
"This,
to me," said Senator Kelly, "would
powerfully suggest the value of a State commission
on the civil law of marriage and related areas such
as that of birth control.
In such a commission,
there would be neither the necessity nor the possi
bility of the various interests thundering at one
another. These interests might discover that their
combined goodwill could free
them from
the
present bleak polarities of divorce — no divorce,
or contraception — no contraception. In the mat
ter of divorce, for instance, they might find that a
modernised law of
annulment,
on wider grounds
of defective consent than are recognised at present,
would go a long way to help many people who
now feel trapped; without going to the lengths
of a full divorce jurisdiction, against which, in my
opinion, there are very strong arguments of a
secular kind quite independent of one's religious
preconceptions.
"In a State commission of this kind, the interest
of the Catholic majority would, perfectly naturally,
have to be strongly represented. This does not
mean that, in drafting a change in the civil law,
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