The Gazette 1975

be specified. The aim is that, if one is qualified in a

profession in a Member State, and has also practical

professional experience, one may be trusted to per-

form one's duty.

A project relating to the Accountants' profession

has been prepared by the Commission. It does not

apply to the free movement of that profession, which

will be tied by the Fourth Directive on Company Law.

The project further only applies to the accountants who

are regulated by statute. Transitional measures relating

to them, and also to tax advisers, are now before the

Council of Ministers.

The Pharmaceutical Profession has been helped by

the passing of a Second Directive relating to the free

movement of pharmaceutical products. Minimum quali-

fications have been laid down at national level for

manufacturing pharmaceutical products; here provision

is made for the free movement of goods and not of

persons. The negotiations are at a very delicate stage

and might be accepted by the Council of Ministers.

Altogether nine directives relating to pharmacy were

proposed; four of these were withdrawn in 1974, but

five still subsist.

Mr. John Cooke, Barrister-at-Law, said that on the

whole the professions had made little progress as regards

adopting directives relating to their liberalisation. More

than 40 directives had been issued, but few dealt with

the liberalisation of the professions. Politicians, who

have to protect their livelihood, acquire entrenched

sensibilities and it is thus preferable that officials of

the Commission should deal with the professions. There

are many individual professionals who are genuinely

concerned with the expansion of exceptions to the

right of establishment. In France for instance, qualified

veterinary sunrgeons cannot practise without obtaining

an official "Mandat sanitaire" from the Ministry of

Agriculture. He then described in detail the decisions

in the Reyners and Binsbergen cases.

A most modest draft directive on the legal pro-

fession has been produced. It may be just possible to

liberalise the proceedings in Court, as written procedure

is paramount on the Continent. The problem of con-

sultation with local lawyers of another Member State

is most important.

If, as in the Reyners case, you were lulled into a

false sense of security, and caught napping, it would

be all the worse for you. It is therefore essential that

all the professions should have close connections with

the civil servants of the Department which deal with

them. It is unfortunate that the relations of the legal

professions with the Department of Justice have not

been as happy as they might be, but, after the Reyners

case, it is hoped that matters will improve, and that

a final and definite procedure relating to the liberal-

isation of the legal profession will emerge.

Mr. Devine, an answer to questions, emphasised that

the notion of "establishment" implies physical presence,

whereas that of "services" does not. It was difficult to

state whether an exclusion clause could be applied in

the case of an organisation, which, while not having a

monopoly, yet insists on compulsory membership. The

Directives as such are always directed to the Member

Government, whose function it is to ensure that the

various professions will admit qualified members with-

out restrictions on nationality. The expression "the

competent authority" usually meant the Government,

but the Government could delegate its functions to

someone else.

Senator Michael O'Higgins presided at the next

lecture which was given by Mr. Franklin O'Sullivan,

solicitor, President of the Federation of Professional

Associations. It was stated that there is in fact no direct

representations for the profession within the European

Community. The politicians are unwilling to give the

professions too much scope, as they are afraid that the

unions would become too powerful. By setting up the

Economic and Social Committee, there was supposed to

be only one institutionalised institution which was to

consist allegedly of producers, farmers, workers and

professional occupations. It was to be noted how

Governments persistently refused to nominate repres-

entatives of the professions to this Committee. No

proper reason had been advanced by these self-seeking

politicians for adopting this narrow attitude, but if

the politicians wanted the professions to advance their

ideas of the European Community, it was essential for

them to get rid of their unwarranted bias and to give

full representation to the professions. Irish civil servants

were generally happy to consult with professions con-

cerned, but some departments, like Industry & Com-

merce and Transport & Power, lacked legal expertise.

We must note that the professions were deliberately

being left in a backwater, and that, although in theory

the Commission was prepared to talk to anyone, this

was nothing more than a backdoor access.

Dr. Whelan, Deputy Secretary of the Department

of the Public Service, then stressed that there was an

essential need for an effective dialogue between the

Government and the professions. The word "dialogue"

does not relate to pressure groups, but objective pro-

fessional groups. The professions must objectively have

a real interest in the good of the Community. Ireland's

efforts in helping the professions will depend on how

far the professions can supply useful sources of infor-

mation to Irish civil servants to counteract arguments

by the Community bureaucracy. A weakness is that the

professions are scattered, and it was essential for each

of them to respond to any representations made by the

revelant Ministries. The principle of Community

dialogue affecting the European Community was

essential. On a political dimension, one had to dis-

tinguish between the institutional dialogue of Govern-

ment Departments and the inter-personal dialogue of

the professions.

In the Community decision process, while political

decisions were made behind closed doors, it was essen-

tial that dialogue should take place on purely technical

questions and in political decisions where adminis-

trative problems were involved. There was no use ex-

pecting dialogue if the professions themselves did not

display professionalism which at all times was being

kept up to date. It was also essential that the input

from die professions must concentrate upon the most

essential areas at national level. Government Depart-

ment must not be bogged down by such munutiae that

they have not time to consider professional represen-

tations properly; they must have enough professionals

themselves to deal adequately with the professions.