The Gazette 1983

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GAZETTE JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1983
were not part of the solicitor's designated clients'
account. He felt that the Compensation Fund
Committee should make it quite clear that a solicitor
acting Executor, should place funds received in
the course of administration in or through the
designated client account. Supporting Mr. Mellon,
Mr. Q. Crivon said there should be a practice
direction by the Society in the matter. Mr. J.
Donovan asked what policy the Society would follow
if the claims on the Compensation Fund were to
increase. In his view, especially in the present
recession, the members could not afford to go on
increasing their contributions to the Fund. Mr. E.
Margetson for the Compensation Fund Committee
commented that this was the price which had to be
paid if the profession wished to remain as a self-
governing body. Mr. G. Doyle endorsed Mr.
Margetson's comments. Mr. Q. Crivon referred to
the problem likely to be created for the Fund by
young solicitors setting up on their own with very
limited experience. The Society should get power to
deal with this situation. Mr. D. Moran urged the
Society to put criminal proceedings in hand in the
case of those auditors who had given false account-
ant's certificates. Mr. E. Margetson commented that
civil proceedings had already been put in hand but
that he had some doubts about being in a position to
take successful criminal proceedings.
Education
In reply to Mr. T.C.G. O'Mahony, Mr. F. Daly
for the Education Committee indicated that the
surplus arising from the C.L.E. Courses was retained
in the Education Department to improve equipment
and other teaching aids. Mr. D. Pigot asked that a
fresh look be taken at the limitation to two attempts
on the Entry Examination to the Law School.
He said that the existing arrangement was putting
extreme pressure on candidates. He asked that the
matter be referred to the incoming President with a
view to a re-examination of the situation.
Costs
Mr. Q. Crivon commented that the report at
paragraph 2.7 was almost verbatim that of previous
years. No progress had been made in adjusting court
and other costs and at the same time the profession
was seeing audit fees rising at a rapid rate. The
Director General reported in detail on the overall
costs situation. Mr. T.C.G. O'Mahony asked why
the profession should allow itself to be tied to
statutory scales which were long outdated. He
advocated Solicitors drawing up their own bills on a
time or other more realistic basis. His suggestion
received general support.
Courts
In reply to Mr. D. Moran, the President explained
that quite an amount of time over the year had been
spent on efforts to break the existing deadlock in the
District Court Clerks Dispute. Representations had
been made and recently he had issued a further hard-
hitting letter to the Minister for Justice. Mr. Q.
Crivon asked if the Society's Public Relations
Committee had considered the situation. The
President commented that the Galway Bar
Association had advertised in the local papers in
relation to the dispute. Mr. J. Buckley replying to
Mr. Crivon's question said that the dispute had been
going on for so long that the media and the general
public appeared to accept that it existed as a normal
state. He understood that Mamdamus proceedings
had been brought by the Bar. Mr. Crivon urged that
as with any other industrial dispute at the present
time, the Society should consider informing the
public by way of advertisement in the public press.
Concluding the discussion Mr. L. Mellon said he
would like to follow up his earlier remarks on the
Compensation Fund by complimenting the
Committee on its activities over the year. The Report
of the Council was adopted on the proposition of Mr.
J. Maher seconded by Mrs. M. Quinlan.
Audited Accounts and Balance Sheet
Mr. M. Curran said that as Chairman of the
Finance Committee, he was proposing the adoption
of the accounts subject to further discussion with the
auditors. Mr. T. Shaw seconded the proposition. Mr.
G. Doyle commented on the various items of
expenditure in the Report and asked that the
incoming Council take note that there should be a cut
back in expenditure. Mr. G. Glynn, thought that the
Council and the Committees were doing an excellent
job with the limited resources available to the
Society. Mr. Curran and the Director General, Mr.
J.J. Ivers dealt with detailed queries from Mr. Q.
Crivon on deferred subscriptions, auditors fees and
staff costs. In reply to Mr. M. Murphy, the Director
General said that the accounts of the Law Club of
Ireland were being audited and that a general
meeting would be held in April. Mr. D. Moran
suggested that the particular general meeting might
be held in conjunction with the half yearly meeting of
t he S o c i e t y. T h e P r e s i d e n t n o t ed t he
recommendation. On the Law School account, Mr. J.
Glynn, suggested that there should be a subsidization
of the students by the older members since, with the
present level of law school fees, that was the only way
in which the potential recruits to the profession
would come from a broad spectrum of social origin.
The accounts and balance sheet were then put to the
meeting and adopted subject to the further
discussion with the auditors.
Election of Auditors
The President said that this item could not be
taken pending the final clearance of the accounts.
The item would be dealt with by the Council in
accordance with the Bye Laws.
Bond Scheme Draw
Mrs. Caroline Slator, with the approval of the
meeting, supervised the draw and the following
bonds were drawn.
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