Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I move amendment No. 2:

In page 10, subsection (1), to delete lines 37 to 39 and substitute the following:“ “lay person” shall be construed in accordance with subsection (3);”.

The purpose of amendments Nos. 2 and 4 is to broaden slightly the definition of "lay person". The current definition states it means a person who is not and never was a practising solicitor or barrister. I am proposing that the Institute of Legal Costs Accountants will be able to nominate a lay person to the authority under section 8 owing to the relevant expertise a nominee is likely to bring to it. It is not impossible that such a nominee might previously have been a practising lawyer. These amendments will allow for formerly practising barristers and solicitors for five years to be considered for nomination as a lay person.

While it is essential to ensure the authority will not suffer from regulatory capture by the legal professions, I do not think it unreasonable to allow some scope for persons with legal experience in the past but with no ongoing affiliation with the professions to be nominated as lay persons where they have additional expertise. I expect that there will be other amendments to the interpretation and construction sections on Report Stage when certain other aspects of the Bill are settled.