The Gazette 1983

INCORPORATED LAW SOCIETY OF IRELAND

GAZETTE

Vol. 77. No. 2.

March 1983

In this issue . . .

Comment 27

The Power of the Prosecution

to Appeal Acquittals

National House Building Guarantee Scheme 34 Conveyancing Notes 34 Professional Indemnity Insurance 34 Education Note 34 Special General Meeting of the Law Society 35 U.C.G. Graduates Association 36 Book Review 39

Counsels' Fees — Statement from

Bar Council

European Community Law, Irish Law

and the Irish Legal Profession

Correspondence 47 Fees for attending Social Welfare Appeals 47 Professional Information 48

Executive Editor: Mary Buckley

Editorial Board:

Charles R. M. Meredith, Chairman

John F. Buckley

Gary Byrne

William Earley

Michael V. O'Mahony

Maxwell Sweeney

Advertising:

Liam Ó hOisin, Telephone 305236

The views expressed in this publication, save where

other-wise indicated, are the views of the contributors

and not necessarily the views of the Council of the

Society.

The appearance of an advertisement in this publication

does not necessarily indicate approval by the Society for

the product or service advertised.

Published at Blackhall Place, Dublin 7.

C o m m e n t

• . .

Civil Legal Aid Scheme —

— an Update

HE 1981 Report of the Legal Aid Board makes

depressing reading. It follows the commendable

example of the previous Report, by including comment on

developments after the end of the year under review.

Unfortunately, the most significant developments in 1982

seem to have been negative — insufficient funding, un-

acceptable strings attached to a particular offer of funding,

an embargo on replacing professional staff who resigned.

In 1981 itself, three law centres had to closé

temporarily for periods, because of excessive work loads.

An early criticism of the scheme was that it could not

provide adequate service in rural areas. The Report notes

that the Board's aim of establishing three further pro-

vincial centres had to be abandoned because funds would

not be provided on an acceptable basis.

It is pleasing to note that there has been an improvement

in the cost of handling each case, from the very high 1980

figures. Unfortunately, the administration required to

process the applications on eligibility grounds will almost

' certainly result in the cost per case remaining high. The

Report notes that, as there has been no change in the

means test since February 1981, the proportion of the

population eligible for legal aid services has declined. This

factor, coupled with the restrictions on staff numbers,

suggests that the service will contract, rather than expand.

The scheme is increasingly a Family Law scheme, 75%

of the cases in 1981 falling into this category, compared

with 68% in 1980. More significant perhaps, is the fact

that the percentage of family law cases which require the

provision of representation in Court, as opposed to advice

only, was 40%, whereas in all other categories of cases, it

was a mere 8%. The volume of such cases going to Court,

— 1,500 — raises again the need for a system to enable

those whose marriages have irretrievably broken down to

settle their affairs other than through the adversarial

process of a Court. While the Report rightly urges the

value of marriage counselling, there is also a need for a

service for those for whom counselling fails. The type of

conciliation service operated in the Bristol Courts, which

provides the service of trained social workers to assist the

unhappy couple to disentangle their domestic and

financial affairs, is one which deserves study here. •