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GAZETTE
JULY-AUGUST 1980
recommendation as to the composition of the committee
to the next council meeting.
When Mrs. Moya Quinlan, Senior Vice President,
indicated that some Civil Legal Aid Centres would
commence work in August Mr. Houlihan emphasised the
need to get information to members, particularly in the
country, as they required a guideline on what their re-
action should be to working with the Legal Aid Centres.
The Society is seeking some information from the Legal
Aid Board for circulation.
IN BRIEF
The Society's submission to the Commission on Taxation
is to be forwarded to the Commission before the next
Council meeting.
The submission on Court costs to the National Prices
Commission is now being examined at technical level.
The Council emphasised that the adjustment in pay
ments to law clerks, effective from July 1, should not be
overlooked.
The delay in the supply of Marriage Certificates from
the General Register Office at the Custom House was
raised. This is to be taken up with the Minister for the
Public Service.
On consideration of a letter from the Centre for the
Independence of Judges and Lawyers regarding the
dissolution of the Syrian Bar Association and detention of
20 of its leading members, the Council agreed that a letter
should be written to the Syrian Arab Republic deploring
the treatment meted out to the profession.
The venue for the 1981 conference will be the Water-
ville Lake Hotel, County Kerry and the following
committee has been appointed to organise the event:
Messrs P. O ' Conno r, Chairman; L. Shields, J. F.
Buckley, A. F. Smyth and Miss Clare Cusack. Additional
members will be co-opted if required.
I N C O R P O R A T ED L AW S O C I E TY O F
I R E L A ND
The Succession Act
1965
by
William J. McGuire
The above book was published by the
Society in 1968 and has been out of print
lor some time. The Socicty now proposes
publishing a 2nd revised edition.
Applications would be welcomed for the
position of Associate Editor of the revised
edition and should be addressed to: —
I ho Director General.
The Incorporated Law Society of Ireland.
Black hall Placc.
Dublin 7.
STAMP DUTY A PENAL TAX ON IRISH
HOMEOWNERS
—Continued
from page 117.
area with insufficient newly-built housing, then it is four
per cent — or else! This can only depress the market in
second-hand houses, leaving the unfortunate seller of a
second-hand house even less well equipped to purchase
his next residence.
Ours is not the first voice to ventilate this topic, nor will
it be the last.
Surely, a Government — any Government — that
appreciates that special Capital Gains Tax provision
should be made for the "principal private residence", can
extend its thinking as far as Stamp Duty. Or are we left
wondering whether successive Governments, conscious
that half our population is now under 25 years of age,
have been cynically rubbing their hands, waiting for the
Great Stamp Duty Bonanza?
Criminal Lawyers Group Formed
Solicitors practising criminal law in the Dublin area have
agreed to establish a new body, the Association of
Criminal Lawyers. This decision was made at a meeting
at Blackhall Place attended by Mrs. Moya Quinlan, Senior
Vice President of the Incorporated Law Society, and
James J. Ivers, Director-General. An executive committee
was appointed with Brendan Kingston as chairman, and a
subscription of £15 per annum was agreed.
The Association will promote an adequate scheme of
representation for all persons appearing before the
Courts, requiring representation on criminal charges. It
will work in consultation with the Incorporated Law
Society in the hope of achieving a consultative status to
the Society in the future. The Association will cover the
whole country and is open to all members of the
profession interested in the area of criminal law.
The whole sphere of criminal practise will be kept
under review, with the aim of involving the Law Society
and representatives of other parties concerned with
criminal practice in discussion on necessary changes and
development. Meetings and seminars will be organised for
the ongoing education of practitioners and a journal or
review will be published on a regular basis to provide
information and opinion in the area of criminal law and
practice.
• The Association's executive will initiate a programme,
including the opening of formal links with the Law
Society. It is intended that a code of conduct involving
rules of etiquette will be drawn up and form part of the
constitution of the association which will also be
concerned with the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme to ensure
that the Scheme is kept up-to-date and meets the needs of
required work-loads.
Solicitors may obtain further information or member-
ship application forms by writing to the Secretary,
Association of Criminal Lawyers, The Law Society,
Blackhall Place, Dublin, 7.
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