Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

A broad range of issues must be addressed to bring about a reduction in legal fees. Legal fees will be reduced as a consequence of this Bill, first, because of the new transparency that will apply to the charging of legal fees; second, the adjudicative process will cease to be a mystery both to some members of the legal profession as well as to the entire general public by the publication of decisions which should provide for a greater uniformity in the charging of legal fees; and, third, as a consequence of the new structures that will be available that will reduce costs. For example, under the provisions of the Bill it will be possible to directly consult a barrister to obtain advice without having to first consult with solicitors. The Bill envisages the provision of legal advice through alternative structures as well as the current form of solicitors practice and barrister practice being able to continue out of the Bar Library with barristers operating as sole contractors. Those alternative structures will create the possibility for barrister partnerships, multi-disciplinary firms and the possibility of solicitors and barristers jointly representing clients as advocates in court proceedings.

All of those measures will contribute to cost reduction but the Legal Services Bill is not a magic bullet in affecting cost reduction because a broad range of other things must be done, some of which we are engaged in dealing with. First, we must try to ensure that people use alternative dispute resolution methods as opposed to litigation when disputes arise and I am happy to tell the House that a mediation and conciliation Bill which I hope to bring before the House is at a reasonably advanced stage of preparation. Second, there is a need to provide for greater efficiencies within the court services to ensure our courts operate in a manner which does not unnecessarily give rise to legal costs.

In the context of tribunals, the Deputy is right in saying that tribunals have proved particularly costly. I do not believe there is a way of guaranteeing to the House that if a tribunal in the future is investigating the issue the substantial costs will not be incurred. That is the reason we need new accountability mechanisms and why there is a referendum taking place to facilitate committees of this House investigating matters of substantial public importance and holding hearings with a view to ensuring not only that this House does its duty, but issues that need to be inquired into can be inquired into without the enormous costs that have been incurred in the past through the use of the mechanism of tribunals.

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