Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Murphy for these amendments, which helpfully point to the fact that the professional indemnity insurance provisions in section 37 very much remain a work in progress. While the initial approach to professional indemnity insurance under the Bill was to replicate the relevant provisions of the Solicitors Act and apply them across the board to all legal practitioners, be they barristers or solicitors, this has been given subsequent consideration, including in terms of imposing any liabilities on the new authority or on the public purse. The outcome of this consideration is that it is now intended to leave the administration of professional indemnity insurance with the Law Society and the Bar Council in respect of their members who continue to require professional indemnity insurance cover to be practising lawyers. The new legal services regulatory authority will assume the role previously exercised by the Government with regard to solicitors, whereby it will set the minimum level of professional indemnity insurance required for a lawyer to practice. At present, under the relevant statutory instrument, this stands at €1.5 million minimum cover for solicitors. Practising barristers are also required to have professional indemnity insurance cover from the Bar Council. This leaves those barristers who are not members of the Law Library, who will be regulated by the new authority under the Bill, to be subject to minimum level of professional indemnity insurance for good governance and the protection of their clients. I can confirm that the new regulatory authority will promptly regulate for this group of barristers with regard to taking out professional indemnity insurance and the minimum level that will be required. I oppose the amendments on this basis.

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