The Gazette 1949-1952

o f this Bill would be more fully recognised and earlier promises and assurances gave some hope in this direction. Last year your President informed you, with every reason for assurance, that the checking o f the Solicitors Bill in the various Departments o f State was almost complete and that he hoped that by the end o f that Session of the Oireachtas, in May, 1950, that it would be in the hands o f the Government with a view to its introduction in the Dail. I regret I have to inform you that the assurances which were given to our President and the Society then have proved to be fruitless, and that little progress has been made in the past twelve months. Although the Bill has been with the Department o f Justice since 1943 it was recently hinted that some points o f controversy had emerged in the Bill. So far the Society has not been informed what these points are, nor, despite enquiries, has it been able to find out! Some two months ago we were informed that the Bill would be ready for introduction to the Dail after Easter. Now Whitsuntide is past and as far as we have been able to discern the position is unchanged. It is most disappointing and dis­ heartening to find that the Society’s efforts to promote the public good and the improvement' of the profession should have been side-tracked over a period o f years in favour o f measures which, to me at any rate, seem to be o f lesser importance. At the recent Council dinner of the Society the Minister for Justice stated he had every reason to believe that the Bill would be in the hands of the Government before the present Session. Although this statement followed a familiar pattern o f other Ministers on the same topic I hope that at last we have reached the end o f the road. Since then the Oireachtas has been dissolved. The Council intend to take the first opportunity of approaching the next Government to urge that in view o f the delay which has occurred in the past the Bill should be given priority in the legislative programme o f the next Dail. D efence B ill , 1950’: Representations were made to the Department of Defence that Solicitors should not be excluded from consideration for appointment to the Office o f Judge Advocafe General; this matter is to be considered by the Government. T ortfeasors B ill , 1950- This Bill was submitted to the Society in draft form and the Council sent a memorandum to the Attorney General making suggestions for its improvement. The Council suggested that the law o f contributory negligence should be amended 6

by introducing the principle o f apportioning damages according to the relative degrees of negligence o f the plaintiff and the defendant. This suggestion, however, was not accepted. D epartment of E xternal A ffairs and F oriegn E states : The Society approached the Department of External Affairs concerning the form o f the circular issued by Irish Ambassadors and Consuls abroad to Irish citi2ens notifying them of their right to participate in the distribution o f assets belonging to estates being administered by the American and other Courts. The Circular heretofore in use amounted to a suggestion that the services o f the Department should be employed to the possible exclusion o f solicitors. Your Council feels that the Department o f External Affairs, and indeed any other Government Department, should not engage in solicitors’ work but, in this sphere, should confine themselves to the preservation o f the interests o f Irish Nationals. ‘ On representations from the Council the Department agreed to alter the form o f the circular and a new draft was prepared which is now considered to be satisfactory. I would like to take this opportunity o f acknowledging the speed and courtesy with which the Department met our Society in the matter.' S olicitors ’ R emuneration : We are the only profession in the State whose charges and fees are controlled by Statute. In the light o f modern conditions this arrangement can hardly be considered as satisfactory to the profession having regard to its inflexibility in the face of steadily rising prices. The cost o f running a solicitor’s office in terms o f wages, stationery, which is a very large item, and other overheads, has increased by well o.ver 100 per cent, since 1939. The absurdity o f our present position is demons­ trated by stating that solicitors now only receive a maximum increase o f 35 per cent, over our 1921 fees. The average increase in fees since 1921 is about 25 per cent. A £20 fee in 1921 to-day stands at out o f which we have to pay the increased • cost o f running our office in terms o f wages, stationery, etc., provide for our homes and families in a world o f increasing prices and deflating value of money. The absurdity o f this position has only to be stated to be demonstrated, when, according to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry and Commerce in the Dail on 2nd May last, the position of the po und sterling was as follows :—A quantum o f go ods to the value of 11 /7d. in 19 14 cost 20J- in T939 and cost 39 /-in February, 1951. We find that applications for