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scribed by the regulations and the form of accountants'
certificates are similar to the requirements made under
statutory regulations in England and more recently in
Scotland. One of the difficulties anticipated in connec–
tion with
these
regulations
is
that accountants,
like
solicitors, carry a heavy burden of work and that it may
be difficult to obtain professional accountancy services
in some of
the remote areas. Representatives of
the
Council have been in discussion with representatives of
the Institute of Chartered Accountants which
is
the
principal accounting body in the State and they are
satisfied that most of the anticipated difficulties can be
solved. An accountant is defined in the regulations as a
person approved by the Council who is a member of
either the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland
or the Association of Certified and Corporate Accoun–
tants or any other person who
is considered by the
Council to have adequate qualifications or experience in
the auditing of accounts. The regulations provide that
each practising solicitor shall notify the Society by 10th
June 1967, of the name, address and professional quali–
fications of his accountant and of his accounting date.
The accountant's certificate
is
to be
lodged with the
Society within six months after the accounting date in
each calendar year. On 2nd March last the Society made
the Solicitors Accounts Regulations 1967 revoking all the
existing regulations since 1966 including the Solicitors
Accounts (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 1966 which
provide for accountants' certificates and re-enacting all
the provisions with some small necessary modifications.
The new regulations were issued to all members with
the March number of the Society's
Gazette
so that every
member has now in his hands a copy of the consolidated
regulations. The additional work falling on the Society's
office in connection with these regulations is very heavy
and members are asked to co-operate by sending in the
necessary statement as to their accountants and account–
ing dates, if this has not already been done; otherwise
there will be a vast amount of unnecessary correspon–
dence with members who are in arrears and the general
business and administration of the Society will suffer.
The Compensation Fund
The statutory contribution to the Compensation Fund
made by each practising solicitor was reduced from
£40 to £30 for the present practice year. The statutory
obligation of the Council is to maintain a contribution
of £20 per annum but this may be increased or reduced
by special resolution of the Council if they are of the
opinion that it would be justified by the financial posi–
tion of the fund. The statutory contribution was in–
creased to £40 for the practice year ending 5th January
1967 as the result of several unprecedented losses during
that period. The resulting increase in the capital assets
of the fund provided a surplus at 30th September 1966
of over £45,000 after making provision for all forseen
liabilities and the Council accordingly felt justified in
reducing the contribution to £30 for the present prac–
tice year. The position of the fund is reviewed in each
September and I hope that it will be possible to make a
further reduction in the amount of the contribution in
the light of the financial position as it will then be
known. Solicitors are
the custodians of amounts of
clients' monies running into many millions of pounds in
the aggregate and it is essential that we should provide
security through the Society for our professional obliga–
tions. It should also be known that no profession in the
State has accepted financial obligations of the nature
and extent which have been voluntarily undertaken by
our profession. The Compensation Fund Committee
which administers this work is extremely anxious that
any claim should be paid promptly. There has been
unavoidable delay in some cases because of the difficulty
of investigation and some apparently unavoidable delay
in the bankruptcy office in admission of the claims. In
the majority of cases the Society investigates the claims
and pays the amount in advance of proof of debt in
bankruptcy but in one or
two cases we have been
warned by the Bankruptcy Office that the claims may
not be genuine and the Society for the protection of the
fund have therefore, been obliged to defer admission and
payment until the Bankruptcy Office is satisfied. This is
a matter completely outside our control and it is greatly
regretted by the Council because it is obviously essential
that every genuine claim should be paid with the least
possible delay.
Examination of Legislation
All Bills introduced in the Oireachtas are examined in
the Society with a view to ascertaining whether they
affect prejudicially the interests of the public in the
special field which the profession has expert experience
or the rights and independence of the profession. This is
a very heavy burden because of the amount and com–
plexity of current legislation. Sometimes an apparently
innocuous amendment of an existing statute may have
far reaching consequences.
In appropriate cases
the
Society makes immediate representation to the respon–
sible Minister. It is also the policy of the Society tc
invite public attention to such matters of public interest
by press releases.
The Criminal Procedure Bill of 1965 which recently
became law as the Criminal Procedure Act, 1966, con–
tains a very serious invasion of the rights of citizens
under the legal aid scheme. The Act as it became law
discontinues legal aid at the preliminary investigation
before the District Justice of criminal offences. This was
apparently done
in
the supposed
interests of public
economy. It is also worthy of note that the criminal aid
scheme was amended, not as might be expected by a
special statute amending the Legal Aid Act, but by a
section inconspicuously inserted in an Act dealing with
matters of Criminal Procedure unconnected with legal
aid. The Council drew attention to the fact that if legal
aid is required it is all the more essential at the pre–
liminary investigation of the offence before the District
Justice, where vital and far reaching decisions must be
made by the defence. If legal aid is unnecessary at this
stage it is difficult to see what useful purpose is served
by giving it at all. The representations of the Council
on this vital matter were unfortunately unsuccessful and
the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967, has since become law
with this objectionable provision.
The Council made representations to the Minister for
Local Government that a provision in the Road Traffic
Bill which would enable
the Minister for Justice
to
remit a disqualification to hold a driving licence should
be omitted from the Bill. The reason given for this
change in the law is that notice of appeal against a
disqualification pending the appeal unless the District
Justice on special grounds
so orders and
that some
District Justices were unwilling to suspend the operation
of
the disqualification.
In such cases
injustice would
have been done to the driver if the Circuit Court on
appeal subsequently found that the disqualification should
be removed. It was pointed out to the Minister for Local