Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 49c:

In page 37, line 39, to delete "Bar Council" and substitute "Authority".

I have tabled these amendments because I believe it is clear that the Bar Council is not the competent authority to supervise professional indemnity insurance. It is not the exclusive regulator of barristers, as the Law Society is for solicitors. One can make a distinction, and there is quite an amount of case law about the Law Society. It is a supplier of insurance services and has no statutory basis for regulating insurance. This is in contrast to the Law Society. This is more properly the responsibility of the authority itself. I hope the Minister will agree that the function should be reserved to the authority, and the amendments seek to achieve this.

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