Results 12,641-12,660 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald

Seanad: Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: Report Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: It is a reference to a change.

Seanad: Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: Report Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Yes, that is all.

Seanad: Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: Report Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: They are simply footnotes that reference difference sections. The first hash refers to the first section that is being changed and the second hash refers to the second change. It is just to differentiate the amendments that are being made. The Bills Office did so to make it clearer what was happening with these amendments. If I could make a point which might be helpful to the discussion...

Seanad: Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: Report Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: No. It just means it is the fourth point referenced. It is the fourth amendment being referenced on a particular page. It is just a note on the fourth. There is just one hash mark for the first one. The Bill Office has done this in terms of being helpful in relation to the Bill.

Seanad: Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: Report Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Like many subsequent amendments, as there is a new line inserted this is effectively saying that where the authority makes a determination referred to in subsection (4). As one can see from page 22 of the Committee amendments, the Report Stage amendment is literally changing 4(b) to 5(b). Some of these are the result of a new line being inserted and the reference changes. It is one of the...

Seanad: Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: Report Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: This is a numerical change to the ordering as I have explained. This is another amendment we agreed to take separately. It is the numbering of the sections reflecting the changes.

Seanad: Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: Report Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: It is like some of the other amendments in that it is a technical drafting change. That is what I have said about many of these amendments.

Seanad: Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: Report Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: It is a drafting recommendation to insert "he or she" as opposed to "the person aggrieved".

Seanad: Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: Report Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: As with the previous two amendments on which we voted, many of these effectively replace "it" with "the matter". In another, we deleted "in this Part". Using this language instead of the other is a straightforward recommendation from the draftsperson to improve the flow of the Bill. Many of the amendments are extremely technical. One could argue about them all.

Seanad: Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: Report Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: All I can say is that I am advised by the draftspersons who have been working on the Bill that it is a better formulation.

Seanad: Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: Report Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: These are mainly refinements to the new section 51 inserted on Committee Stage to deal with the informal resolution of inadequate services. The substantive amendment in this group provides that an appeal of the outcome of a complaint of inadequate services or excessive costs shall be via a review committee to the High Court. Amendment No. 88 replaces subsection (1). The intention is that...

Seanad: Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: Report Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I will deal with the point made by Senator Norris in respect of forming an opinion. The authority in this instance would be referring the matter for informal resolution, so we do not want it to prejudge the matter. Thus, we are removing the section that refers to the authority forming an opinion. I think the Senator is correct about the question of liability. We discussed this in the...

Seanad: Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: Report Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Amendment No. 91 is one of the technical changes in relation to the numbering of the amendment.

Seanad: Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: Report Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: On Committee Stage, we introduced a number of new sections dealing with the establishment and operation of the legal practitioners disciplinary tribunal. This group of amendments relates to those sections and have been tabled to provide greater clarity in respect of the tribunal. Amendment No. 122 is no longer necessary, given that we are repeating the qualifications that were to be...

Seanad: Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: Report Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I am moving it.

Seanad: Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: Report Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: I will go into the details. Amendment No. 122 is a drafting amendment to eliminate repetition of qualifications for lay membership of the disciplinary tribunal. The purpose of the amendment is to replace subsection (1) of section 66, which was inserted on Seanad Committee Stage by amendment No. 76. The subsection (1) which was inserted includes subparagraphs (a) and (b). Subparagraph (a)...

Seanad: Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: Report Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: There is a history in terms of how issues have been dealt with by the Law Society or the Bar Council and various approaches have been taken. In the Bill we are introducing some new models of dealing with complaints. For example, there will be a new disciplinary tribunal. We are also making sure that the LRSA has an oversight role. In section 135 we are moving from reprimand and advice,...

Seanad: Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: Report Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Traditional terminology.

Seanad: Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: Report Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: The legal advice I have is that this is the highest amount that can be imposed outside a court setting. If the various issues we are discussing here are dealt with in court, there is the potential for different amounts, but this is the highest amount outside that setting that can be put into the legislation in regard to the tribunal.

Seanad: Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: Report Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2015)

Frances Fitzgerald: Parts are divided into Chapters when they are very long in the Bill.