The Gazette 1961 - 64

the full annual contribution to retirement annuities as a charge against gross income, thereby obtaining full relief from both income tax and sur tax. Having considered ways and means of taking advantage of these concessions the Council decided to engage the services of Irish Pensions Trust Limited in consultation with whom a scheme has now been devised which gives preferential terms confined exclusively to members of the Society. The Scheme also provides for the continued advice of the consultants to all members who participate keeping them in touch with any developments which may occur (including variations in rates between different underwriters) and which may prove to be to their advantage. It also provides for advice at the retiring age as to the relative value at that time of any options available in the light of the circumstances then prevailing. The scheme primarily provides for special pension policies. An important feature of this is that it is not necessary to pay regular premiums but a member can pay as much as he likes with the minimum of £100 as his first premium and secure a pension on this single payment and can then add to it in future years if he wants to by paying other single premiums. This permits a member to make the greatest provision for his future in a year which has been profitable without leaving him any liability in a bad year. Coupled with this, provision is made for a reducing life assurance which is optional to enable a member to augment the amount payable on his death on the pension policies if he were to die in the early years when the death payment would be small. Finally, a special permanent and non-cancellable sickness and accident scheme has also been negotiated on preferential terms. All members of the Society under the age of 60 are eligible for the sickness and accident scheme. Details of the scheme which, in the view of your Council, is the most advantageous at this stage available and of the advisory service offered by the Consultants will be contained in a booklet now being prepared and which will in due course be circulated to each member of the Society. We are all indebted to our Senior Vice-President Mr. Overend for a great deal of time and care given by him to this scheme. Finance I must now direct your attention for a few moments to our accounts for the past year. You will observe that in recent years we have divided up our accounts under five different heads, namely : A Members Account; A Registration Account; An Educational Account; A Miscellaneous Account. And finally a Consolidation Account,

In each case the name is indicative of the nature of the particular account and the final result is to be found in the last mentioned account The Con solidation Account. The Finance Committee have been giving very close and careful consideration to our accounts during the past year and I feel bound to bring to your notice one or two very sobering facts. Firstly, since 1956 when our income exceeded our expenditure by some £4,200 our surplus has steadily dropped until last year when the figure was £461 and this year only slightly better at £704. Next year we will almost certainly show a loss. Secondly, we would this year have shown a loss but for the fact that our income from Examination and Lecture Fees was up by £1,800 due to the way in which examinations happened to fall. This resulted in an abnormal amount being actually received within the year under account. Thirdly, we must and I am sure do realise how ordinary office expenditure and outlay has risen in the past'few years. The Society has been no exception. In this past year alone printing has cost us £500 more than in the previous year. Salaries, stationery, electricity and postage have all moved up. Fourthly, apart from these increases in the more usual items there have been new items which we have had to face. The holding of our Half Yearly Meeting outside Dublin every second year has cost us money and it has been money well spent. Our obligations to the International Bar Association where we now hold an important and respected place have had to be met. The cost of entertaining the Society's Guests, which up to a year or so ago, incredible as it may seem, was borne by the members of the Council personally, is now very properly a charge on the Society. We are spending more money in providing extra lectures for our apprentices and have had to appoint more examiners. The sum of approximately £500 is being spent in legal fees annually and I will later refer to this. Finally no one in this room or outside coud find fault with us for appointing an assistant to Mr. Plunkett to share with him the ever increasing responsibility of the work of our Society (An item which is not in fact reflected in the years accounts under review). After long and careful considreation I have come to the conclusion that subject to two items to which I will later refer we cannot reduce our expenditure to any appreciable extent and maintain the facilities and services of the Society to which our members are entitled. There is in my view no wasteful ex penditure, on the contrary we would dearly like to spend much more on our Library and other