Ms Eileen Creedon:

I only have anecdotal evidence from talking to colleagues in the private world to get a sense of what they are offering. I am quite sure that smaller practices outside Dublin are not offering the kind of sums mentioned earlier but, because we are operating in the Dublin market and because the type of work we do is very high-level, solicitors who come to work for me have experience that makes them attractive to the bigger firms. I meet with all the solicitors who leave me and I ask them why. The indications they give me are that they are getting €55,000-€65,000, and this differential is too broad for them.