The Gazette 1958-61

the a8th October last will be in the region of £45,000. I need not emphasise these figures. They are self evident and they make a sorry showing. It is clear that the stability and the solvency of the Fund cannot be maintained with income as it is at present, if we are to accept as a yardstick the income and loss position over the past four years. The Council is aware that other losses are in exist- : ence which have not yet been reported for one reason or another. It is clear beyond all doubt that if all losses are reported, the total proved losses will ex- j ceed by a large margin the estimate of £45,000 to ' which I have referred. I therefore feel that it is my duty to warn the pro fession that in my view, and that of many other col leagues who have given considerable thought to this matter, the annual payment by each member to this Fund will have to be increased in the near future. There is no use in closing our eyes to this issue. The profession as a whole is responsible for the mainte nance of this Fund. It is our Fund, maintained by the profession for the stability of our reputation and our good name and maintained it must be. We pay £5 per year and the Compensation Fund, for the reasons I have now given you, may very well become insolvent within a short time. I need hardly say that no increase in the annual contribution, however small, will be made here unless it becomes necessary but upon my honour I cannot see how it is to be avoided. I need hardly stress the gravity of this situation which is made immeasurably worse by the Supreme Court decision declaring our disciplinary powers un constitutional. We in our profession have no longer any disciplinary powers worth talking of. We can under section 49 of the 1954 Act, for the reasons j therein stated, refuse to issue practising certificates but this is a small thing. We can under Section 17 of the 5th Schedule to that Act obtain an order from the High Court freezing a solicitor's bank account, but this can be done only after dishonesty has occurred, not before. And in both these cases, the solicitor concerned can continue to practise. The present state of affairs is shocking and the Council are very much alive to the fact that it has no powers whatsoever to prevent this dishonesty oc curring or to have it punished when it has occurred. And until we get these powers, the way is open for misappropriation on any scale with increased demand on the Fund, and it follows as surely as I stand here, that public confidence, and not only public con fidence but our own confidence in our profession, will be so sapped that regard for the profession is unlikely to recover in the lifetime of any of us here to-day. The motion for the adoption of the report was sec onded by Mr. B. T. Walsh, Messrs. T. D. McLough-

come to Dublin for these Meetings but it is important that every member so far as possible should attend so that he may if necessary put his views before the meeting in person. It is only by having a strong and active membership that the Society can hope to pros per and I strongly hold the view that every member should attend the Half Yearly General Meetings so far as possible and not leave the attending to a few. In conclusion I should like to thank my two Vice Presidents, Mr. Halpin and Mr. Lanigan for their help and assistance throughout the year and I would like to place on record the debt which the Society owes not only to them but to every member of the Council. This has been a most difficult year. There has been an abnormal number of Council Meetings and a very large number of Committee Meetings. By far the heavier part of the day to day work is carried out at the Committee meetings and I must tell you that the members of the Council have given the most magnificent services to these Committees and to the Society and I am most grateful to them. I must also place on record my appreciation and gratitude to Mr. Plunkett and his staff for the help they have given me and the kindness they have shown me during my term of office. I am satisfied that were it not for all that I have stated it would have been impossible for me to carry out my duties. When the press representatives had left the meeting the President made the following statement. I want to talk to you now about the Compensation Fund and while you are entitled to have the facts, I have thought it better to give these to you in the absence of the Press for obvious reasons at this time. The present annual subscription by each member is £5, and this gives an income together with invest ment income, of approximately £7,300 per year. The amount of the Contributions and Investment Income from 6th January, 1955 to 28th October, 1958 was £28,364- Up to the 28th October, 1958, claims have been made on the Fund amounting to £52,812. Of these, claims amounting to £7,318 have been withdrawn, refused or disallowed, £10,699 ^as been admitted as proved and cheques have been issued for payment, and claims amounting to £34,795 are still under investigation. Fifty two claims have been made in respect of 13 solicitors the largest being claims amounting in all to £21,891 against one solicitor and the next largest being a claim amounting to £7,812. The claims which amount to £21,891 have come in since March, 1958. There is no reason to believe that most of the losses claimed will not be proved and it may therefore be estimated that the total losses to be met down to 66