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It followed that unfortunately many members were
not insured against this contingency at the moment.
Even though the English Law Society has already
power to take steps to make this compulsory, it is still
considering the position. The President asked how, even
if this proposal of Professional Indemnity Insurance
were adopted, it would be enforced. The proposals
relating to this matter are not statutory, whereas those
relating to Solicitors' Accounts are. As a result of
discussions with the Minister for Justice, he was satis-
fied that an amending Solicitors Bill, even if it were to
provide for this, would not be introduced by the
Government for at least two years. The Accountants'
Profession themselves had great difficulty in obtaining
insurance to cover this contingency.
Mr. Desmond Moran
stated that the question of
compulsory insurance was one of great anxiety as it
could lead to disaster.
Mr. James CDonovan
asked about information
about the number of claims to be met.
Mr. Bruce St. John Blake
stated that the rating
for professional negligence insurance was high, as it
was based on the totality of the professions covered.
Mr. Jermyn
pointed out that as solicitors, we were
in fact separated from other professions which should
give us an opportunity to build up a fund of our own.
As against Mr. T. C. G. O'Mahony's suggestion
that this Report be considered by a Sub-Committee, the
President's proposal, that the Report be referred back
to the Council for further consideration, was accepted.
The Report was then passed.
The adoption of the Report of the Parliamentary
Committee was proposed by Mr. John J. Nash and
seconded by Mr. John Jermyn. It was pointed out that
the views of the Society on impending legislation could
be referred to the Government, with occasional favour-
able results. The report was passed.
The adoption of the Report of the Finance Com-
mittee was proposed by Md. Gerard Hickey, seconded
by Mr. Ernest Margetson and passed unanimously.
The adoption of the Report of the
Court Offices
Committee,
in the absence of its Chairman, Mr. Peter
O'Connell was proposed by Miss Felicity Foley and
seconded by Mr. Christopher Hogan.
Mr. Crivon
asked whether there was any prospect
of any increase in Schedule 2 costs.
The President stated that the question of a Special
Costs Committee had to be considered by the Prices
Advispry Commission. The Minister for Justice was
endeavouring to ask the Minister for Industry and
Commerce whether he would transfer the powers in
relation to legal costs to a special Prices Committee to
be established under the Ministry of Justice. The
President stated that the Council were looking closely
at the matter.
Mr. Crivoii
emphasised that the present scales were
unremunerative. The Report was passed.
The adoption of the Report of the
Court
of
Exam-
iners
was proposed by Mr. William Dundon and
seconded by Mr. John Buckley. Mr. Buckley stated
that a Sub-Committee had been appointed to advise
on the new educational arrangements and that the
11 members of this Sub-Committee, most of them not
on the Council, deserved commendation for their work.
Mr. Crivon
was worried that no proper statistics for
education had been produced. He stated that whereas
formerly about 50 new solicitors qualified per year,
this figure had now risen to 100, most of whom would
not receive employment. If, at Universities, candidates
could not secure enough points for the discipline which
they intended to choose, they inevitably turned to law,
on account of the low standard of points involved.
Rigorous steps should be taken to raise standards, in
order to produce competent solicitors.
The
Director General
stated that admittedly 120
solicitors had qualified last year, and that no less than
400 apprentices had been accepted at the moment. The
exact position in relation to employment would be
inquired into within the next two months.
The
President
stated that, as from October 1975,
the profession would become post-graduate, and the
Universities would furthermore be imposing strict quotas
in the Law Faculties then. The Minister for Justice
wanted to allow apprentices into the profession without
any control, and, if we had not done so, by facilitating
apprenticeship, the Minister could by pressure have
opposed the closed shop, and brought in legislation to
open the door to extend apprenticeship facilities.
Mr. Crivon
pointed out that a qualified solicitor
is bound by the regulations, and that a surfeit of
solicitors will keep the Disciplinary Committee busy.
Mr. Desmond Moran
asked for an explanation as to
how candidates had to undergo undue delays in obtain,
ing examination results.
The Director General
stated that under the regul-
ations all results had to be sanctioned by the Council,
and that for the Summer 1974 results, a special meeting
of the Council had to be summoned, at which it was
difficult to obtain a quorum. Although examiners were
given a dead-line, they often sent results late, as this
was only a part-time activity. If the results were late,
they could not be properly checked. He deplored the
fact that the results of the September Law Examinations
had in some respects been inaccurate, and that in two
cases, candidates who were at first informed that they
had passed, had subsequently failed.
Mr. Dundon,
in reply to a question as to whether
it was possible to review an examination paper, stated
that no general review was possible, but that discretion
could be exercised in particular cases. The report was
passed.
The
adoption of
the Public Relations Committee
was
proposed by Mr. Walter Beatty and seconded by Mr.
John Carrigan.
Mr. T. C. G. O'Mahony
commended the Committee
for making use of the Communications Media. The
report was passed.
The adoption of the Report of the
Blackhall Place
Committee
was moved by Mrs. Moya Quinlan, and
seconded by Mr. John Maher.
Mrs. Quinlan
emphasised that the Council, at its
last meeting, had passed a resolution to move by gradual
steps into Blackhall Place, as and when conditions
warranted it. A draft scheme was in course of prepar-
ation to use the ground floor premises mainly for edu-
cational purposes.
Mr. Gerald Hickey
said he had misgivings about
the gradual development of these premises, as the cost