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GAZETTE
SEP
T
EM
BER 1976
E DUCA T I ON
COMM I T T EE
John F. Buckley,
Chairman
Adrian P. Bourke
Maurice R. Curran
Joseph L. Dundon
Roderick D. O'Donnell
James W. O'Donovan
John F. Buckley,
Chairman
9.1 Following on the great influx of Apprentices during the last few years the work load imposed on
the Society's Staff and on the Education Committee has increased greatly. As soon as the Education
Advisory Committee had been formed the Education Committee delegated to it the task of giving primary
coasideration to the arrangements for the Society's New Education System and in particular the establish-
ment of the Society's Professional Law School in 1978. subject to the over-riding control of the Education
Committee.
9.2 The Education .Committee itself has concerned itself primarily with the present system of Education
and in doing so has continued its policy of regular Meetings with the University Law Faculties. The
Deans of the Faculties have been of considerable assistance to the Society in accepting large numbers of
Apprentices for the Special Courses given in the Universities but in the year under review the Universities
were unable to provide places for all the Applicants and some Apprentices had to be postponed until the
Academic Year 1976/77. Happily, the Universities were in the Current Year able to take all those who
had been postponed from the previous year and also to accommodate all those who had been Apprenticed
before the 1st of October, 1976.
9.3 The number of Candidates presenting themselves for Apprenticeship after the 1st October 1975,
was greater than that which had been anticipated by the Society and suggests that University Graduates,
finding other employment outlets closed to them, had turned to Apprenticeship instead.
9.4 The Committee has kept in particular review the situation in the Law Faculty in University College,
Galway, which the Society has for some years considered to be unsatisfactory, particularly in relation
to Staffing. Following the referral to the Higher Education Authority of the request from University
College, Galway, for additional Staffing in the Law Faculty the Chairman and Director General attended
upon the Higher Education Authority to support the request from U.C.G. No announcement has yet
been made as to whether the additional Staffing will be approved. The Society has not therefore been
able to see its way to change its position that it will not recognise the U.C.G. Law Degrees as sufficient
for the Society's purposes after 1978.
9.5 The Committee is particularly concerned at the high failure rates in recent Examinations which
appear to suggest that the Educational requirements for entry to Apprenticeship may have been too low
in recent years. Analysis of the results shows a disturbing trend in that Candidates who have received
Exemptions in a number of Subjects in the Examinations appear to have a poor pass rate on repeating
the Examinations in the other Subjects.
9.6 The Committee received representations from its Examiners that they were under continuing
pressure from Candidates who had failed in the Examinations to review their marks and discuss their
papers with them. The Committee's ruling in relation to this matter was that no Candidates failing an
Examination on the first occasion should be entitled to a re-check or advice but that if a Candidate had
failed a particular Examination three times the Examiners'advice in relation to that particular Candidate
might be sought. Where a Candidate has failed a particular Subject in an Examination on a number of
occasions the advice of the Examiner may be sought.
9.7 The work of the Committee is onerous, particularly as Members tend to be the recipients of
representations made by various parties in relation to the progress or otherwise of Apprentices and
because of the growing number of Applications from Apprentices requesting some favourable treatment
or other. In many cases these Applications are pointless because the Committee is operating within the
stringent terms of the Solicitors Act and has no power to grant the favours requested. The Committee
would be grateful if Members of the Profession would check the provisions of the Act to see if the
Committee is in fact empowered to grant the favour requested before making representations to Members
of the Committee.
EDUCAT I ON ADV I SORY
COMM I T T EE
J o hn F. Buckley,
Chairman
Adrian P. Bourke
Maurice R. Curran
D r. Bryan McMahon
David Moloney
Roderick D . O'Donnell
Brian K. Overend
Henry Sexton
Laurence Shields
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10.1 The Education Advisory Committee was established under the provisions of the Statutory Instru-
ment bringing the Society's New Education System into operation and was appointed in December of
1975. It is composed of four Members of the Education Committee of the Society, one Representative
of the Society's Lecturers and Examiners, Dr. Bryan McMa h on of the Law Faculty University College,
Cork, an Apprentice and two ordinary Members. By agreement with the Education Committee the
Advisory Committee has confined its activities to matters concerned with the introduction of the new
Education System and has not involved itself in advising on the old system.
10.2 The Committee has met monthly and in addition had two Special Meetings in the month of
August on the occasion of the visit of Mr. Kevin O'Leary of the Legal Workshop of the Australian
National University at Canberra to the Society. The chief concern of the Committee throughout the
year has been the establishment of the Society's new professional course which will commence in 1978
and it was to that end that Mr. O'Leary was invited to meet the Society to discuss the operation of the
Legal Workshop at Canberra which is similar in concept to the Society's Professional Law School and
for Mr. O'Leary to advise generally on the Society's proposals. Much valuable information and assistance
has been received by the Society from Mr. O'Leary and following his visit the Committee recommended
to the Council that Mr. Harry Sexton be appointed as a full time Education Officer with responsibility
to assist in the establishment of the new course and that he should visit and participate in the operation
of the Legal Workshop at Canberra and visit similar Schools in other Australian Cities. Mr. Sexton's
visit to Australia is planned to commence in mid-October.