The Gazette 1975

PRELIMINARY NOTICE The next issue of the July-August Gazette will be published about 20th August next. Limited material for this issue should be received at latest by 25th July next. The following issue will be that for September. Material for that issue should reach the Editor at latest by 20th August next.

ORDINARY GENERAL MEETING The President, Mr. W. A. Osborne, took the Chair at the Ordinary General Meeting of the Society which was held in Jury's Hotel, Westport,. Co Mayo, on Sat- urday, 9th May, 1975. The notice convening the Meet- ing, and the Minutes of the last Ordinary General Meeting held in Ennis, Co. Clare in May, 1974, were taken as read and duly signed. Mr. Michael Egan of Castlebar, President of the Mayo Solicitors' Bar Assoc- iation, welcomed the delegates to the first General Meeting to be held in Co. Mayo.

of apprenticeship premiums are inappropriate in the future. Consequently, I am authorised to inform our members that as and from the 1st October next, the Council will not approve of the charging of premiums to apprentices under the new system. I will seek the co-operation of all of our members in implementing this new policy. In this rapid changing world there is need for constant updating and of revision of prac- tices and procedure, so as to meet fully and ad- equately the needs of a changing society. This need applies also to members of our profession, as well as to persons in other walks of life. We in the Council are conscious of this need. In this respect, your Council has in hand projects providing for im- provement in Conveyancing procedures, including those dealing with the sale of flats, which has been a very difficult problem, not only for the profession, but also for the public, particularly in the field of bor- rowing on the security of this type of property. The updating and reprinting of the Society's Handbook, and of the opinions of the Council, (2) the presentation of the new taxation measures in understandable and digestible form, (3) the review of our costs system, (4) the establishment of a suitable course for the training of legal executives, (5) a Communications Training Centre, as well as courses for profession and students, and (6) a back up service in the accountancy area of office management are all contemplated. Two courses in taxation are being arranged for Dublin and Cork. Recently as you know, a Superannuation Scheme has been successfully introduced, which the Society hopes will be for the benefit of its members. The in- volvement of the younger members of our profession and our students in the Free Legal Aid scheme and their arrangements of Seminars on legal and other subjects are evidence of a sincere commitment in the social field. Mr. John Connolly has been appointed Accountant to the Society from 1st June 1975. Since our last meeting, the Society has discussed fully with the Minister for Finance and the Revenue Commissioners the involved subject of existing and proposed taxation legislation. While these discus- sions have been most amicable and while our mem- bers have always and will, subject to the Constitution, have regard to the law as it is enacted, nevertheless, we deprecate the continuing and increasing in- trusion into the confidential affairs of our clients. So far it has been possible to reach an accommodat- ion with the Revenue Commissioners, but the position

Mr. P. C. Moore proposed, and Mr. Michael Houli- han seconded the resolution that Messrs. Richard Branigan, Brend an McCormack, Roderick Tierney, Alexander McDonald and Eunan McCarron be appoint- ed Scrutineers of the Ballot in respect of the election for the Council for 1975-76. This resolution was passed unanimously. The President then addressed the meeting as follows: This year, I am in the happy position of being able to report substantial progress in several areas of the Society's activities. This is particularly the case in the field of Education and in the training of future members of the profession. I am glad to say that the regulations providing for a University Degree as a condition of entry to the profession, as from 1st October, 1975, have now been made. Concurrent with a higher standard of entry to the profession, the Society has in hand the improvement and enlargement of its training course in practical subjects. This will take some time to imple- ment fully, but as and from October next, apprentices will be required to undergo training in the field of Tax- ation and in the practical rspects of Conveyancing. The range of such additional courses will be augmented as quickly as possible. Before leaving his are? of act- ivity, I must pay tribute to the practical help and con- tinuing support which the Society has received from the Universities and from Mr. Cooney, Minister for Justice. Without that help, it would not have been possible to make these changes. The Minister recently acknow- ledged the value of the work done by the Society by saying how appreciative he was of the Society's work in concluding this matter. Tribute is also due to the members of our Committee whose long and arduous hours of hard work over the past six months, has resulted in the introduction of the new regulations. It follows that in future, appren- tices will be University Graduates undergoing post graduate practical training. In these circumstances, the Council of the Society considers that the charging

144