The Gazette 1974

Le gal Aid .1 would like to refer to legal aid. As Deputies be aware, we have had since 1965 a statutory Sc neme of legal aid in criminal matters and for some years past legal aid has also been given in ' a beas corpus cases under an informal arrangement between the Attorney General and the Minister Finance, where the High Court or the Supreme ourt recommends the grant of legal aid. In the p imi nal Procedure (Amendment) ' Act, 1973, I ,°°k the opportunity of extending the statutory scheme ln two important respects—firstly, to make legal aid p l i a b l e for the hearing in the court of sentence where n e accused has been sent forward for sentence—and 0 r any subsequent appeal against sentence—and, Se condly, to make legal aid available for all preliminary j:*aminations in the District Court. Previously legal aid 0 r preliminary examinations was restricted to cases of Murder. Legal aid in civil as well as criminal matters is Nowadays universally regarded as a fundamental human r !ght and I have always felt that civil legal aid must c ome here sooner or later. **e are probably the only member of the Common arket which does not provide legal aid in civil mat- . Ts and, indeed, our membership of the Community lrn poses obligations on us to introduce a measure of c »'l ' e gal aid in certain areas. This is a question to oich I have given much thought and I have Voided to set up an informal committee to advise °n the introduction of a system of civil legal ai . d - The committee will consist of representatives ' both branches of the legal profession, a re- presentative of FLAG, officers of interested Govern- ent Departments and the chairman will, I hope, be a , "ge. The precise terms of reference and the member- _ 'P of the committee are at present being settled but I Pect to have the committee established and working Ver Y shortly. w^h is is an opportune moment to pay tribute to vv' K v o , u n t a r y organisation of law students who, . Il h some professional assistance, have been operating j e c e n t years a legal aid and advice service. These . 'oents deserve the highest praise for the very valu- le work which they are doing in an area of social e d. As I stated in the opening part of this speech, grant of £5,000 per annum to FLAC is now pro- I °sed as an earnest of the Government's recognition of t h e ' r work. *Wn t Legislation ÍA ° e n t ^ S ^ a t i on includes the Criminal Procedure V^ endmen t) Act, 1973, the Charities Act, 1973, the Auctioneers and House Agents Act, 1973, the Genocide j ct » 1973, and the Courts Act, 1973, and I hope to be Producing several other Bills in the very near future. 1 he Committee on Court Practice and Procedure ^ntinues with its most valuable work, and I take the Pportunity to thank its members. They could be for- 5*ven for thinking that the lack of action in regard to Hany of their reports denotes a certain ingratitude. ««Ports of the committee not yet implemented deal •th jury service, the criminal jurisdiction of the High °Urt, appeals from conviction on indictment, proof of • r ^vious convictions, the interest rate on judgment £ "is, the jurisdiction and practice of the Supreme ^ °Urt, the organisation of the Courts, the liability of , ar nsters and solicitors for professional negligence, the ^Nnes-on-the-spot" system, court fees and the execution Honey judgments, orders and decrees. The matters

dealt with in these reports are being examined and I hope to introduce amending legislation, where neces- sary, in due course. Recommendations on De:ertion I extended the terms of reference of the committee to include such matters, including matters of substan- tive law, as the Minister for Justice might from time to time request the committee to examine and I asked them at their early convenience to examine and make recommendations on the substantive law as to the desertion of wives and children, the attachment of wages and the desirability of establishing special family tribunals. They were also asked to examine at the same time the legal procedure in regard to maintenance of spouses and children, affiliation, declarations of legiti- macy and guardianship and custody of children. I am glad to say that the committee have completed their investigations and, as I said at the recent AIM Seminar, I expect to have their recommendations in the very near future. After publication I will be available to interested persons and organisations for discussions on the report. Drafting of amending legislation will then commence as a matter of urgency. Landlord and Tenant Commission Two separate reports dealing with different subjects have been presented by the Landlord and Tenant Com- mission. The first report deals with the renewal of occupational tenancies under the 1931 Landlord and Tenant Act. The commission's second report deals with extensions of the rights of renewal and of outright purchase given by the Landlord and Tenant Acts of 1958 and 1967 to what may best be described as ground rent tenants. The second report covered inter alia the renewal of the tenancies of sports clubs in certain circumstances. Certain of the recommendations in the commission's second report, including those deal- ing with the grant of a new type of lease to sports clubs, have already been implemented, with some modi- fications. in the Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act, 1971. A comprehensive Landlord and Tenant Bill has been drafted on the basis of the two reports of the commission that I have mentioned. I hope shortly to be in a position to submit this Bill to the Government for approval with a viéw to its introduction. In recent months I have had discussions with repre- sentatives of tenants in Cappoquin, County Waterford. I have also had representations from tenants in Marino Crescent, Clontarf, Dublin. Both the Cappoquin tenants and the Marino tenants feel that there are anomalies in the law which adversely affect their interests. I advised these tenants to put their cases before the Landlord and Tenant Commission and I understand that the commission are dealing with both cases. When I have the commission's recommendations I will be in a position to consider the question of changes in the law. The Government have now approved of a detailed scheme of compensation. Briefly, compensation will be payable by a tribunal for personal injuries received in the course of crimes of violence. The injuries must merit an award of at least £50 and must have been sustained since 1 October 1972. Compensation will be on the basis of common law damages. I am now in 100 Compensation Scheme for Persons injured in Violent Crimes