Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I welcome this Bill. However, the issue of exclusion of people who can serve in these positions is always included in Bills such as this. The Ombudsman must be a person of particular standing and he or she cannot be a practising barrister or solicitor. There is an aspect of this Bill that has not been taken into account and the Minister might consider it. I brought forward the Registration of Wills Bill that went through this House. It has not yet gone to the Dáil. A number of solicitors have been discredited recently and I am very concerned about the wills books in their practices and where they are being retained. The people who made the wills should be informed by the Law Society of exactly where the wills have been stored after being taken from the discredited practices or practices that have become insolvent. People are concerned that in the case of some wills that were made, the people are now deceased. In some cases, people will not benefit from the last will and testament of the person. This is an important issue which the legal services ombudsman will probably have to address when he or she is appointed. I hope the Minister of State, an experienced barrister, will bear this in mind when ideas are being put to the ombudsman on his or her appointment to office.