Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House, and I welcome Mr. Ken Murphy, director general of the Law Society. Mr. Kevin O'Higgins, the current president of the Law Society, was here until a few minutes ago. There are others who have an interest in the legislation.

The Government remains committed to the completion of the Bill in order to allow the new legal services regulatory authority become fully operational as soon as possible. The Bill brings about four primary changes, including the establishment of a new independent legal services regulatory authority, an independent complaints system, a new legal costs regime, and a framework for alternative business models. Change is difficult in general and people struggle with change. In all professions there is discourse about change, but a radical amount of change is suggested in this legislation. Communication and consultation with the professions is a must, and I am glad to hear what the Minister said about further potential amendments to the legislation.

The intention of the legal costs regime is to bring greater transparency to legal costs as they apply to barristers and solicitors. For the first time, the Bill sets out in legislation a set of legal cost principles. I should declare an interest. One is nobody around here unless one declares an interest. As a practising solicitor, I am aware that solicitors have been up to speed with costs and the detailed itemisation of costs for a number of years. It has long been recognised as standard practice in the firms in which I have worked. Among colleagues, it is well recognised. As a relatively recently qualified solicitor, I remember trying to track down a junior counsel, who will remain unnamed, for weeks for his fee, because I wanted to get the bill out. Eventually I got a piece of paper with the person's name and address and the words "Two thirds senior". We have come a long way, as have the barristers. That is what brought us to this point - the idea that a professional could request two thirds of the amount a senior counsel would get, without going to the trouble of finding out whether it was two thirds of €5,000, €10,000 or €2. That was remarkable, and we must welcome change on that front.

The Competition Authority has found the legal profession in need of substantial reform, which we all acknowledge. It believed the profession had many unnecessary and disproportionate restrictions on competition, as referred to by an earlier speaker, and that these needed to be reformed so that consumers could benefit from greater competition in legal services. The European Commission has urged the speedy implementation of these reforms. However, some concerns have been outlined by those in the profession about the proposal to allow for the creation of multidisciplinary partnerships, whereby solicitors, barristers, accountants and other professionals work together and can set up joint businesses for their services. When discussing the multidisciplinary partnership model, it is important to note these concerns and ensure that a fair balance is struck.

I concur with what Senator O'Donovan said about costs. There is a perception that all solicitors are creaming it. Having been a part of a practice for the past number of years, I agree with the point about rural solicitors. It can be very tough for them, but many urban solicitors are perceived, being in the city, to be doing extremely well. Many of them have done well to keep their heads above water over the past ten years. In many instances they are working hard to keep people paid, and this needs to be acknowledged. It is nice for me to have the opportunity to do so.

The Bill facilitates new forms of legal services provision such as legal partnerships and multidisciplinary practices, which simply take account of the emergent new business models in other common law jurisdictions and the huge advances made in business technology. This is an aspect of the Bill that the European Commission is keen on seeing implemented.

It is important to note that the Bill does not seek to impose or force these new models on legal practitioners. Rather, the intention is that the new models will operate successfully alongside the existing structures of business used by legal practitioners, including small solicitors' firms and, for barristers, the Law Library.

The new models will facilitate legal practitioners by removing current restrictions on the way they deliver their services. They will facilitate consumers by providing more choice, better access and, in due course, lower costs, and will facilitate the removal of barriers to competition in the legal services market identified by the Competition Authority. These reforms have been a long time coming and, for the most part, apply in other common law jurisdictions. The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Fitzgerald, introduced a number of key amendments on Report Stage in the Dáil, having listened to the concerns about these new business models. These amendments to the new business models will further enhance their regulation and governance.

Disciplinary procedures, in theory, will work in quite a straightforward fashion, and citizens will be able to submit concerns. These measures, when looked at together, are a sensible package of updates to the existing structures. We must implement much of what both the European Commission and the Competition Authority have asked to see while taking into account the concerns of the legal profession. The funding for these measures includes a budget allocation of €500,000, which will support the start-up of the new regulatory authority. This will be recoupable under the statutory levy to fund the operation of the new authority. The statutory levy seems reasonable and will not be a burden.

I welcome the Bill, as I feel it allows for modernisation of a number of aspects of our legal system. I am keen to ensure recommendations are taken on board and, where possible, a number of suggestions were. I am pleased to hear the Minister's remarks about accepting further amendments. Not everybody will be 100% happy with the Bill, but it is a reasonable compromise and one the Government can stand over.