Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The answer to those questions is yes. The Government has examined the Competition Authority's report. The authority has produced a number of reports and it reported to the House on this matter two or three weeks ago. That may not be the only model that can be taken, but the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform is examining it. I am not satisfied that self-regulation, as it has been operated over the years, is the best model. We must come to a view of how best to do that. Total self-regulation does not provide the impression that the public interest is best served in a transparent way, notwithstanding the fact that the overwhelming majority are doing a good job, as the Deputy said.

There are other models including, for example, the Accounting Standards Association which supervises accountants and is regulated by law. There is a lay majority on that body which works well on a professional and an individual level. It was recently established by law. There is not a huge difference between the accountancy and the legal professions. It was thought necessary to establish such a body for the accountancy sector and that model is working. Increasingly, both of those professions work closely together. The Deputy has seen what is happening in the IFSC and the related legal practices. That is a model therefore that the legal profession should consider. The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform is examining the position, however. Generally speaking, self-regulation is not now seen as a great idea internationally. Someone would have to work hard to convince me that self-regulation works, because that is not the case. In all its reports, the Competition Authority indicated that the concept of self-regulation is not the way of the future.

See this speech in context