Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There are two potential oppressors on the regulatory authority. On the one hand, there are the interests of the legal profession and, on the other, the interests of the Government. Part of the reason there was opposition to what was originally proposed by the previous Government was that it would have given the Government too much control over the regulation of legal services, particularly in circumstances where the State might be a defendant in cases. Is Dr. Thornhill satisfied the authority is standing up to encroachment from the Government and from the legal profession?