The Gazette 1977

NOVEMBER 1977

GAZETTE

Dublin Solicitors' Bar Association

Professor Bryan McMahon, architect of the document described briefly the foundation and general purpose of the Law Reform Commission, established under its own Act of 1975, and said that its present priorities are in the areas of Family Law and the Law relating to Builders, Vendors and Lessors. Professor McMahon joined the Commission in January 1977 and has, in the opinion of the writer, produced in a very short space of time a remarkably well researched and well considered document. Professor McMahon described it himself as a "working paper" and indicated that he hoped that its consideration by the Solicitors' profession might produce some further useful views. Mr. Michael Greene, Secretary to the Irish House Builders' Federation (I.H.B.F.) then spoke at some length on the I.H.B.F.'s views of the Law Reform Commission's publication and, understandably, argued that the present position of the purchaser from the House Building Industry was not as bad as the Law Reform Commission alleged. He made the point, also made in the Law Reform Commission's publication that the considerable body of recent Case Law on the subject was largely in favour of purchasers and lessees and he said that the I.H.B.F. considered that the trend of the Courts, coupled with the proposed introduction of its own Scheme, designed to protect purchasers from its members, between them rendered unnecessary any such protective legislation as was proposed by the Commission. Mr. Greene said that the I.H.B.F. Scheme was intended to be operative from 1st January 1978, and that it had been in the process of formulation since 1968 — substantially pre-dating the setting up of the Law Reform Commission! In Mr. Greene's view, to legislate on the relationship of Builders, Vendors and Lessors with their purchasers and Lessees could well have had the effect of slowing down the present trend of the Courts and that the increased cost of administering the proposed legislation on the subject could outweigh the social benefit which such legislation might achieve. He recommended that the Commission should, as part of its brief, consider the economic consequences of its proposals. Professor McMahon, in reply, put the views of the Law Reform Commission on the urgent necessity for some increased protection for purchasers and lessees, and not merely purchasers from the I.H.B.F. He suggested that in fact the purchasers and lessees of property were in a poor position, when compared with other consumers. The Commission feels strongly that as a house is probably the largest and most important purchase in a person's life, the purchaser of a house is entitled to reasonable protection both from poor materials and workmanship and from the financial instability of builders and vendors. Professor McMahon referred in particular to the present anomalous situation in which a Builder can gain immunity from the consequence of his own omissions merely by making himself into a Vendor. Professor McMahon postulated by way of example, circumstances in which a Builder invited a member of the public to view a house which he had built, with a view to sale. If, during such viewing, plaster were to fall on the head of the viewer, then the Builder would clearly be liable in

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING At the Annual General Meeting of the Association, held at Blackhall Place, Dublin (by kind permission of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland), the following Council was elected for the ensuing year: President: Thomas Jackson. Other members of Council: Miss Clare Cusack, Mrs. Moya Quinlan, Stephen Maher, Vivian Mathews, Charles Meredith, Herbert Mulligan, Rory O'Donnell, Colm Price, Laurence Shields. Hon. Auditors: Rory O'Connor and Peter McMahon. The Meeting was addressed by Mr. Bruce St. John Blake, President, Incorporated Law Society of Ireland, who took the opportunity of mentioning to Dublin colleagues various matters affecting the profession, including in particular the revised system of legal education due to come into operation, whereby Legal Apprenticeship would not commence until after a University degree had been obtained and would be linked to a system of practical education through the Law Society. In this general context, the President also referred to the fact that the Law Society's new premises in the former Kings Hospital School at Blackhall Place had been brought into use this Autumn, with considerable benefit to the profession. He stressed that contributions were still required in order to finance the very considerable debt incurred in this respect. The Meeting discussed a number of matters of importance to Dublin Solicitors, including the present deplorable constions at Rathfarnham District Courthouse and the difficulties created for the profession by the vast backlog of pending litigation, both Criminal and Civil, in the Dublin Circuit Court. The Meeting also heard that the Association had arranged a Seminar on Office Management and Costing, to be held in the Royal Marine Hotel, Dun Laoghaire, on 20th January 1978 and that the Association's Annual Dinner would take place at Jury's Hotel, Ballsbridge, on Friday, 3rd March 1978, on the eve of the International Rugby fixture. BUILDER, VENDORS AND LESSORS The first publication of the recently established Law Reform Commission was the subject of a discussion evening organised by the Association's "Activities Committee" on Wednesday, 5th October 1977. The publication, entitled "The Law Relating to the Liability of Builders, Vendors, and Lessors", deals with the present substantially unprotected position of purchasers and lessees and seeks to redress the present imbalance in favour of Builders, Vendors and Lessors. 180 Vice-President: John F. Buckley. Hon. Secretary: Andrew F. Smyth. Hon-Treasurer: Miss Mary Cantrell.