Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

This section deals with the removal of disqualification orders in cases where a person has been disqualified from holding a licence for a period of more than two years and where the order is the first such order made in respect of that person within a period of ten years. The Bill provides that a person to whom this section applies may at any time, following the completion of half the period specified and taking into consideration the previous conditions mentioned, apply to the court which made the order for the removal of the disqualification.

Senator Paddy Burke's amendment proposes that those making an application for the removal of a disqualification would be subject to a proviso that "there are extraordinary and exceptional circumstances to justify such an application". It would be inappropriate to insert a provision such as this in legislation. It is a matter for the courts to decide the appropriate circumstances in which the disqualification may be reduced. They would decide any extraordinary and exceptional circumstances of the case.

There has been a practice over the years that after a period, a person who has been disqualified may apply to the court which handed down the disqualification to apply again for the licence. In general, the licence may be returned. The judges did not take such decisions lightly, and it would have depended on the case made by the lawyer in question. The interpretation should be left to the courts and the discretion of the judges.