Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

The issue of legal costs in contentious cases generally is being addressed by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. By "contentious", I mean legal services provided or work done in connection with legal proceedings before a court. The work is intended to address concerns about the costs associated with civil litigation and the intention is to bring forward practical proposals to help address the issue. A number of reports have been prepared in this regard. The issue of legal costs generally has been the subject of much scrutiny in recent years. In December 2005, the report of the legal costs working group, chaired by Mr. Paul Haran, former Secretary General of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, was published. Broadly speaking, the report recommended the replacement of the existing taxation of costs system with a new system of legal costs assessment. A group set up by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to advise on the implementation of that report and to consult professional legal bodies has completed its deliberations.

Officials in the Department have commenced work on drafting the scheme of a Bill to reform the manner in which disputed legal costs are assessed, with the allied objective of making the market for civil legal services more predictable, consistent and transparent to consumers. It is intended that the Bill will also provide for significant improvements in the quality and quantity of information that a solicitor is required to provide to clients and the manner in which it is to be supplied. An important consideration in developing the Bill is the view that the individual litigant should have a central role to play in controlling his or her legal costs. How the litigant can be so empowered will be addressed in that Bill. The timely provision of information to clients is central to this empowerment.

The proposal is to have a new system for the assessment of costs which, as part of its remit, will provide information to the public on the law and on clients' entitlements relating to costs. I expect the new system will have a mechanism to collect, analyse and publish data regarding costs, counsels' fees, witnesses' expenses and other disbursements from all court jurisdictions. The Bill will also provide for legislative and procedural changes to reduce delays in court hearings and generally expedite the legal process. The issue of costs penalties for delays or costs incurred due to negligence can be addressed in the context of this proposed Legal Costs Bill. This will provide an appropriate opportunity to consider the issue, which is considerably wider than what would be dealt with if the amendment were accepted.