Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)

I also welcome the opportunity to contribute to this important debate. It signals a fundamental change in the public perception of legal services that will instil greater confidence in the public, which is a welcome development. Consequently, I also welcome the Bill.

The legal profession has served this country and its citizens very well. The Bill will give effect to key reforms in the area of legal services. These reforms were included in the Programme for National Recovery and they were identified as some of the structural reforms required under the EU-IMF programme to which the country has signed up. The establishment of independent regulation of the legal profession through the new legal services regulatory authority is extremely important. Heretofore, the Incorporated Law Society acted as a self-regulating authority for the legal profession. There is a perception that where there is self-regulation there is not full transparency in decision-making. In the interests of ensuring public confidence, it is no longer acceptable that self-regulation should continue. The Bill will certainly address that.

The Law Society has done a great deal of work during the past 150 years. It has changed its position and no longer seeks to deal with client complaints about the legal profession. It has indicated that, in the main, it has taken this approach to address the public perception of the profession. That mature decision on the part of the Law Society is welcome. I understand the Law Society has welcomed many of the changes in Part 9 of the Bill which deal with the issue of transparency in the context of legal costs. These changes will ensure that citizens will be able to predict, to some extent, the costs they will be charged and there will be a modern costing system in respect of legal services.

There are three fundamental pillars in our democracy, namely, the Oireachtas, which is also known as the Legislature and which makes the law, the Executive, which comprises the Government and which enforces the law, and the Judiciary and the legal profession, which interpret the law. That system has stood the test of time and has served our country and many others well. The Oireachtas and the Executive are subject to scrutiny, in the context of transparency and accountability, by the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission and the Standards in Public Office Commission. It is only right that matters relating to the legal profession will be fully transparent and that the profession will be independently regulated, particularly from the point of view of public perception and confidence.

It is important to have transparency in the charges imposed by the legal profession in respect of services provided. In a recent high-profile case - in respect of which there had been a successful outcome in court - there was a serious breakdown in the relationship between the clients and solicitors involved as a result of the costing structures imposed. One can imagine the intricacies that come into play and the lack of clarity involved with regard to matters of this nature. The Bill, by means of the regulatory authority it will establish and the structures it will put in place, will bring the clarity required. I hope it will also help to improve the relationships between clients and solicitors and give the former - who are, after all, customers - more confidence in the legal services with which they are being provided. That is an extremely important aspect of the Bill. The provisions relating to information on costs and putting in place the structures to which I refer will automatically give rise to fairer competition in legal services.

Families in rural areas have traditionally retained the same firms of solicitors over many generations without ever questioning either the costing structures imposed or the level of service provided. This is because a level of trust has been built up - and rightly so - through the provision of a good level of service by the solicitors over many years. In the context of the modern society in which we live, I suspect that the position may change as a result of much more transparency in respect of the costs of service provision. Clients will become more discerning and will seek to discover who provides the best service at the best price. That is a welcome development.

To date, legal costs have been excessive. Previous speakers referred to the tribunals. The costs relating to the Mahon tribunal have almost reached €100 million. There is a great deal of concern regarding access and the cost of hiring barristers for the purposes of clients obtaining the best defence in legal cases. It can be extremely costly to obtain legal opinions. Access to good legal services is very important. The Bill will certainly assist in improving the level of access.

I was disappointed with the result of the recent referendum whereby Oireachtas committees were not given the power to investigate matters and make findings. When one considers the cost of tribunals, there could have been serious savings to the State - it would have been in the interests of citizens - if the referendum had been passed. I suspect it was not passed because the reputation of politicians, who are themselves professionals, has been badly damaged in the eyes of the public. As politicians, we must acknowledge that the damage to which I refer came about as a result of the problems that have afflicted our country and our economy in recent years. Many of these problems arose because of a lack of regulation and on foot of bad decisions made by politicians. The referendum result is understandable to some degree. However, if the referendum had been passed there would have been a great deal more transparency in the context of the delivery of public services. In addition, the costs relating to the provision of such services would have fallen.

I have rarely had occasion to visit the courts. However, the courts environment seems quite intimidating and archaic, particularly in the context of the wigs and gowns which members of the Judiciary and the legal profession are obliged to wear. I accept and respect that a tradition but, the courts system, with its dress codes, and so on, can be intimidating to the ordinary citizen. A great deal of money is spent on the provision of services in our courts. Will the Minister indicate if judges and barristers are paid allowances in respect of wigs, gowns, and so on? The Bill provides options and allows discretion in respect of wearing of wigs and gowns.

Members of the legal profession have raised with me the independence of the new authority. Under the Bill, the Minister and the Government will have the power to appoint the majority of members of the authority. The Minister already referred to this but I ask him to address it further when replying to Second Stage. We need clarity on the Government's intentions and we must fully respect the independence of the Oireachtas and the Judiciary.

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