Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

——made to a Member of either House of the Oireachtas.

On Senator Leyden's comments, the functions of the legal services ombudsman are dealt with in section 9. The Senator's concerns are encompassed in the first function, which is to receive and investigate complaints about the whereabouts of wills in solicitors' offices. This issue clearly comes within the function of the ombudsman.

Senator Buttimer raised the issue of the proposed six-year term of office for the ombudsman. I understand this is a standard term for this type of appointment and that other ombudsmen may be reappointed. The Government also has a right to remove the ombudsman, albeit in highly circumscribed circumstances which are not dissimilar to the provision in the Constitution on the removal of the President or a judge on the grounds of ill health or stated misbehaviour. Section 6(4) sets out the grounds on which the Government may remove the legal services ombudsman. These include, in subsection (4)(c), where "the Ombudsman's removal from office appears to the Government to be necessary for the effective performance of the functions of the office". This power is reserved to the Government if serious concerns can be raised about the manner in which the ombudsman is discharging his or her office. I am a supporter of local authority members' having a role, as they do in VECs and local policing committees and as they used to in health boards. However, what is envisaged here is a clean break between this very important high level office and elected office.

The issue of unemployment among solicitors was mentioned. As a former lawyer, I am aware of the major pressures on the legal profession. One of the key functions of section 9, specifically section 9(1)(c), is "to assess the adequacy of the admission policies of the Law Society to the solicitors' profession and of the Bar Council to the barristers' profession". In addition, under section 15(1) the annual report of the legal services ombudsman may specify the number of persons admitted to practice as barristers and solicitors during that year and an assessment of whether such number is consistent with the public interest. There is an argument that too many people are being admitted to some training courses where they are given an expectation of a lucrative career that may not be available, certainly in the circumstances in which we find ourselves. The role of the ombudsman in this regard is important.