Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

While counsel and solicitors are regulated by a regulatory body and will in the future be regulated under the Legal Services Bill when enacted, other representatives for gain, in particular, are unregulated. They are entitled to charge percentage and contingency fees, which is illegal for a solicitor. They do not have to have indemnity insurance, yet many of them advertise that they provide legal services. It is important that these entities be regulated. There are many non-legal entities by which it is meant non-solicitors or counsel, trade unions or employer representative bodies with a negotiating licence that provide an excellent service. Many do not claim to be in some way legally qualified or to provide legal services and many have insurance. A world class service requires that those who are providing services for gain should be in some way regulated in order that minimum standards would be expected. This would be a protection for employers and employees and it would mean that they would know that where they pay for a service to be represented, the representative would have to meet a minimum standard.

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