Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

I welcome the introduction of the Bill, which is timely, particularly given that considerable public concern has been voiced by other speakers about the operation of the legal profession, the costs involved and access to legal advice, and we all recognise those concerns. I to compliment members of the legal profession who regularly take on cases on a pro bono basis. In many cases, they fail to get paid and obtain compensation through the swings and balances throughout their career. We should recognise that. There are quite a number of old fashioned, traditional firms who have done that.

Another aspect that has come to my attention in recent years is the vast discrepancies in the legal profession in general where young energetic and enthusiastic solicitors or barristers find it extremely difficult to get into the business. It operates almost like a closed profession. I am not being critical of it but that is the way it has grown with the passage of time. It is sad but that is the way it is. It creates a certain degree of cynicism among young people who might consider a career in law and have something to bring to it. We need to be mindful of that as we discuss the Bill.

Deputy Alex White referred to some of the archaic procedures and attitudes, for want of a better description, throughout the courts and the legal profession. There are two issues involved here, one is the regulation of the legal profession and the other is the procedures in the courts, which we need to revisit, otherwise, we will remain where we were. I was in this House many years ago when much play was made of modernising the courts and the legal profession together but, unfortunately, that has not happened yet. I have had occasion in recent years, along with constituents who have fallen on difficult times, to be in the courts and have observed at first hand the way the law treats the individual and, depending on a person's circumstances, there is no doubt there is a vast difference in how individuals are treated. The person who is without influence and poor will have greater difficulty getting his or her share of fair play in the system that currently exists than a person who is wealthy and can afford to pay. That should not be the case because the law is not supposed to be dispensed in that fashion and neither is access to the law supposed to be dispensed in that fashion. That is an issue that must be addressed. There is an opportunity to address that in the context of this Bill. It is a fundamental flaw in the system.

A sizeable number of legal professionals take on cases, in the knowledge that they will lose money, in order to represent the case and ensure a certain amount of fair play prevails. They do it all the time. However, other legal professionals have a different perspective and in recent years, rightly or wrongly, and Deputy Alex White referred to this, the tribunals were seen as a goldmine in some quarters. It is not necessary in the course of an inquiry for a particular firm to achieve multiples of millions of euros. That should not be possible. To those who would say they were told at the start of an inquiry that it would only take place for one, two or ten months or year, that can all be re-arranged. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility to re-arrange one's schedule. I cannot understand how that position can be countenanced. We will hear about the costs of the tribunals in the next six months. We have asked questions about them since some of us were sitting on the opposite side of the House. Deputy White asked questions about them when he was in the other House. The questions must be answered sooner rather than later. I refer to questions on how we got into the situation where this goldmine draws on the system and the State pays. The State will pay and continue to pay at a time when it can ill afford to pay, and that is the sad part of it. It will be seen as a bad reflection on the profession, on the administration of the institutions of the State and on all of us.

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