Ms Maura McNally:

I would like to come in on one point. From the perspective of the profession, when a practitioner, either a solicitor or a barrister, applies to Government for patents of precedence to become a senior counsel solicitor or senior counsel barrister, the latter additionally being a member of the inner Bar, he or she seeks a recommendation from the legal services regulatory advisory committee. Both the Bar Council and the Law Society are represented on this committee. They are on this committee precisely because they are able to explain the applicants' experience, temperament and so on. The corollary is not applied in this particular Bill, which we find illogical in the circumstances. I just wanted to add that.