200 / 336
to your client, of many of the letters which we are
obliged to write from time to time to expedite mat-
ters, which have inevitably become bogged down.
By now the public may be tired of hearing the word
"delay" used in relation to the legal system and in
particular to our profession. I felt obliged in Westport
to comment on the delays inherent in the present
staffing of the Land Registry, a matter which was also
raised by way of a question in the Dail in February,
the delays in other public offices which have become
notorious, this is not essentially due to any fault of
the staff engaged in these offices, but rather by reason
of the inherent problems which exist in the Depart-
ments in question. I am glad to say that there are con-
tinuous meetings between the representatives of our
Society and the Departments involved, all with a view
to improving the position, and in an endeavour to
solve the existing problems. We feel however that it is
unfair that the entire blame in this regard, should, by
reason of the understandable irritation and frustration
of the public, be placed on our shoulders. Delay be-
gets delay and nothing causes greater irritation and
frustration to the public in general, than an apparent
inability in the system, to carry out the work which
they entrust to the legal profession to be performed
quickly and to their satisfaction. The increases in com-
plaints which the Society have received over the past
two years results from the apparent breakdown in the
Land Registry system and the very long delays which
have existed and continued to exist in the Estate Duty
Office and the officials of the Revenue Commissioners
and of Valuation. Some time ago I felt obliged to
comment on delays which are occurring in some of our
Courts. The pressure on our Courts will, I am certain,
increase in the next few days and unless the system is
prepared to provide sufficient Judges and Court ac-
commodation, to enable an efficient and business-like
dispatch of the work to be carried out the system will
fall into greater disrepute with the public generally.
Until these problems are dealt with, I am afraid it is
inevitable that we will continue to receive in the Soc-
iety a large number of complaints not caused by us
and which would be remedied if there were a greater
measure of speed and efficiency in the public areas
referred to. There appears to be an urgent need for
the appointment of at least one further Judge to the
Circuit Court in Dublin.
On the question of costs and remuneration, out
profession is reaching a point where the cdSt of pro-
viding a service for all members of the community is
out of reach of a large section of the community at
present. People who are unable to afford the cost of
the service provided by the legal profession, under-
standably complain about what they refer to as "un-
reasonable or excessive charges". They concentrate on
specific areas of our remuneration to indicate that our
remuneration is too high, but some of the critics in
this respect do not appear to have spent any time in
costing work involved on the basis of reasonable re-
muneration. The Society has been surveying this area
very thoroughly during the past year or two on a time
costing basis which is the only true basis on which the
reasonable cost of any service can be ascertained. Gen-
erally we have been seeking a review of the costs sys-
tem. In 1968 and prior to that time we had long dis-
cussions with the Department of Justice with a view
to establishing a Central Cost Committee. Th e discus-
sions in this respect were of course overtaken by an
enlargement of the powers of the National Prices
Commission. We would indeed welcome a review of
our fees in general, if for no reason other than, to allay
the apparent public concern which seems unfounded
and is based on genqral comment rather than on any
true analysis of the reasonableness or otherwise of our
remuneration.
Part of the service which we offer may well be out
of the reach of many people. It follows that a system
of legal aid in civil and criminal matters is absolutely
essential if our services are to be made available to all
people in the community. As a matter of tradition
our profession has provided for years a full service to
all members of the community, often at the expense of
the individual practitioner, but the stage is being
reached where, as it is unremunerative our profession
are finding it dfficult to carry this burden and this has
inevitably left our profession open to criticism.
May I remind you that our profession always will
be held, in high regard by the public in general. None-
theless we must all in our own way, do all we can
to honour the public trust which is placed in our pro-
fession, to the best of our respective abilities and to keep
As new members I would exhort you to play your
part in the field of criminal work, particularly work
coming within the ambit of the criminal legal aid
scheme. To obtain experience on the criminal side of
District Court work is an essential part of your train-
ing and the experience gained in the District Court
in both criminal and civil cases will lay a solid found-
ation for your future progress in the profession. I feel
that a greater committment from all members of our
profession is required in relation to the criminal legal
aid scheme. I hope that when the problems which have
existed are ironed out that the scheme will be availed
of more freely and fully by the public and that we will
provide for them the service which they are entitled
to obtain. The Minister for Justice has agreed to set
up a Committee to examine the present scheme and
we would hope that this examination would commence
shortly so that .any problems which exist can be clear-
ed up quickly.
It is essential also that you take part in the activities
of our Society in becoming members of a Bar Associat-
ion and not only becoming members, but playing an
active role in the work of a Bar Association. It is im-
portant that you express your views on all matters of
interest to the Society, that you take part in the affairs
of the Young Solicitors Society in keeping up their
good work, in continuing your involvement in the
Free Legal Aid Centres and a general deep interest in
the affairs of our Society which will ensure that we
are genuinely seen to be conscious of the general pub-
lic need, but that it should be seen that we are so con-
scious.
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