Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 191:

In page 82, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following:“Matters to be ascertained in course of adjudication of costs
95.(1)Schedule 1on the principles relating to legal costs shall apply to the adjudication of a bill of costs by a Legal Costs Adjudicator.
(2) Where the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator is adjudicating an application under this Part, a reference to a Legal Costs Adjudicator shall be construed as including the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator.
(3) In determining an application for the adjudication of legal costs, the Legal Costs Adjudicator shall, to the extent which he or she considers it necessary to do so, consider and have regard to the entire case or matter to which the adjudication relates and the context in which the costs arise.
(4) In particular, the Legal Costs Adjudicator shall, as respects a matter or item the subject of the application—

(a) verify that the matter or item represents work that was actually done,
(b) determine whether or not in the circumstances it was appropriate that a charge be made for the work concerned or the disbursement concerned,
(c) determine what a fair and reasonable charge for that work or disbursement would be in the circumstances, and
(d) determine whether or not the costs relating to the matter or item concerned were reasonably incurred.

(5) In applying subsection (4)the Legal Costs Adjudicator shall, so far as reasonably practicable, ascertain, in relation to work (including work to which a disbursement relates)—

(a) the nature, extent and value of the work,
(b) who carried out the work, and
(c) the time taken to carry out the work.

(6) In the application of subsection (3)to an adjudication relating to a bill of costs as between a legal practitioner and his or her client, the Legal Costs Adjudicator shall have regard to an agreement (if any) between the legal practitioner and the client in relation to the matter concerned, made under section 91.”.