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members not to comply with Section
153. "This is based on a strong legal
opinion which appears to be
consistent with the advise which
Dermot Gleeson
has given to the
Government," the article stated.
The
Sunday Independent
stated on 7
May "Mr Quinn given the widespread
opposition of the various professional
bodies to the Section and a warning
from the Law Society that its
provisions could be unconstitutional,
would be well-advised to think again.
He should withdraw the Section 153
provision until he can produce a better
and more widely acceptable
alternative."
On 10 May the Law Society made a
submission to the Dail Committee on
the Finance Bill, (see text at pi39)
The
Evening Press
reported that
"history was made today when the
Law Society became the first outside
body to make its submission to the
Dail Committee on the Finance Bill."
Marketplace featured a report that
evening on May 10 on S.l53 of the
Finance Bill and an interview was
given by Ken Murphy. It reported on
the submission made by the Law
Society and the other professional
organisations. The submissions to the
Dail Committee were also featured on
Oireachtas Report. On 12 May an
article written by Ken Murphy was
published in the
Irish Times.
The
headline read "Opposition to
Section 153 is an issue of civil
liberties for solicitors."
On 17 May amendments to the Fiance
Bill were published. Section 153 was
replaced by S . l 72 which does not
require solicitors to report clients. A
statement from the Law Society which
welcomed the changes was issued to
RTE which was covered on 9 o'clock
TV news. The following day in the
Irish Times
, it was reported that
"Quinn exempts solicitors from tax
evasion clause" and in the
Irish Press
that "lawyers let off in Finance Bill".
The
Irish Independent
reported that
"The Law Society gave the new
provision a "cautious welcome" but
said that its primary concern - that a
citizen's fundamental right to avoid
self-incrimination - was being
respected in the new section."
146
Solicitors For Judicial Posts
In the
Irish Independent
on 8 April,
there was an article published with the
headline "Solicitor's Call for Judicial
Posts" by
Frank Carron.
The article
stated that solicitors should be
considered for appointments to all
courts, including the High Court and
Supreme Court, the President of the
Law Society said last night. The
article quoted extensively from the
press release issued on the day of the
parchment ceremony. The article
stated that: "the Law Society
President pointed out that two years
ago, Mr. Justice
Michael Sachs,
a
former solicitor, was appointed a High
Court Judge in Britain. In 1991,
legislation was passed there to end the
bars monopoly for senior judicial
post. There was no logical reason why
a solicitor should not be considered
for judicial appointments to all courts
here, he added". The
Sunday Business
Post
on 9 April 1995 also carried
extracts from the press release. The
heading stated "Bar Monopoly
Criticised". The article went on to
say that the President of the Law
Society,
Patrick Glynn
had called for
an end to the monopoly endured by
members of the Bar in seeking
appointments as Judges to the
Superior Courts."
Court Delays
In the
Irish Independent
of 5 April
1995 as a result of a media enquiry to
the Law Society, an article was
printed headed "Huge Court Backlog
Leads to 'Appalling' Delays." The
article was written by
Stephen
O'Brien
and stated that family law
cases in the Circuit Courts are facing
delays of up to three years before they
are heard while similar hold-ups await
civil actions in the High Court, new
figures gathered by the
Independent
have revealed. The article stated that
the Law Society last night urged the
Government to appoint more Judges
of both Circuit and High Court level
to clear the logjam of justice. The
article stated that Law Society
President,
Patrick Glynn
said: "The
situation in the Circuit Court in
relation to family law cases is very
serious. Outside of Dublin, no more
than one tenth of cases listed in any
particular seating will be reached".
In an article published on the front
page of the
Evening Press
on 1 May
1995, headlines reading "Legal Limbo
for Victims". The text of the article
dealt with the problem of court delays.
The article written by
Chris Macey
quoted figures provided by the Law
Society as regards the amount of time
which cases are taking in the High
Court and the Circuit Court.
In the
Irish Independent
on 6 May
1995, there was an article with a
headline: "Courts need Independent
Budget - Judge". The article was
written by
John Maddock
and it stated
that Judge Denham from the Supreme
Court had said that the courts and
judiciary should have their own
modern management infrastructure
and budget independent of the
Department of Justice. It was
reported in the
Sunday Business Post
on 20 May that more judges are to
be appointed.
Investment Intermediaries Bill
An article was published in
Business
and Finance
on 13 April 1995 with
the heading "Solicitors Reject
Investment Bill." The article stated
that the Law Society is up in arms
over plans to introduce a new
requirement that solicitors report to
the authorities any financial
transaction carried out on behalf of a
client. The article stated that the new
duty, will greatly increase the
administrative burden borne by
solicitors while it could cost the Law
Society between £300,000 and
£400,000 a year. The article stated
that: "it is proposed that the new
Investment Intermediaries Bill,
prompted by the need to control the
activities of rogue brokers and other
intermediaries, should also be applied
to solicitors and accountants. Ken
Murphy, Director General, pointed out
in the article that the solicitors
profession is already unique in having
a large Compensation Fund available
to clients who have suffered financial
loss at the hands of the solicitors.
Inclusion of solicitors in the
Investment Intermediaries Bill was
strongly opposed by the Law Society.