Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh for his contribution to the Bill. He is in effect seeking a quota system for admissions to both parts of the legal profession. In regard to the gender profile, 46% of practising solicitors and 40% of barristers are women. Moreover, the majority of law graduates from public and private third level institutions are women. The proportion of female graduates in 2003 was 65.4%. The educational requirements of the Law Society and the King's Inns are such that equal opportunity is given to both sexes to enter the legal profession. I do not agree with a quota system in this regard. Over the past several decades, both sexes have been given better opportunities to become barristers and solicitors. The Law Society and the King's Inns have introduced schemes to allow people to take up professional courses by various routes, with the overall result of widening access to the professions among every stratum of Irish society.

I recall during my time as a law student in UCD being given a lecture on Roman law by the former Deputy, Fine Gael Attorney General and expert in constitutional law, J.M. Kelly, in which he made some disparaging remarks regarding the fact that the proportion of females in the class was for the first time almost 50%. He very eloquently stated that the only reason so many females were studying law was because they wanted to find eligible men. A protest was held as a result of his comments and the remainder of the course in Roman law was boycotted. Thankfully, however, other students and I passed our examinations in the subject. During the 1970s, significant numbers of females began to take up courses in law.

I understand the Deputy's intention but it would be wrong to introduce a quota system, particularly in view of the substantial numbers of females who are now studying law.

See this speech in context