Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Táim sásta go bhfuil deis labhartha agam ar an mBille an-tábhachtach seo. Tá sé fíor-thábhachtach go mbeadh plé againn ar an ról atá ag na aturnaetha ar fad agus ar an bhforbhreithniú agus an maoirsiú a dhéantar ar an obair a dhéanann siad agus mar sin de.

Sinn Féin welcomes this legislation. We have been calling for regulation of the legal profession for some time, with the aim of bringing it into line with best practice elsewhere in the EU. Unfortunately, a number of areas of the Bill must be worked on to bring it up to standard. We welcome the establishment of an independent authority to oversee the legal profession.

The perception amongst the general public is that the legal profession is almost a law unto itself and exempt from any oversight. Public representatives dealing with people who come into their offices are aware of the large number of constituency cases concerning legal scenarios and things that went wrong. In some cases these can be small matters, but they can have devastating effects. In the case of a family in my locality, a mistake was made in not registering the transfer of a right of way, and it has caused a major split in the family, with some members of the family not talking to others. There was a botch-up by someone who did not do the job properly. The solicitor went out of business and the files were passed on, and when members of the family went back after the death of a parent and tried to sort out the right of way issue, there was a row in the family about who had right of way. It is an ongoing row and has been has not been resolved. Matters that may seem inconsequential can have devastating effects on families.

It is extremely important to have oversight. People make complaints to the Law Society, and in many cases they are not happy with the findings of the Law Society. There is a perception that the legal profession closes ranks when one of its own is accused of something. For the good of the profession and the Law Society, it is important that any oversight mechanism be independent so that there is no sense of wrongdoing not being righted and people not getting due process in the system.

There is a lack of clarity about legal expenses. Members of the House are eminently qualified legal people and they are au faitwith the system. In talking to people in the constituency in which I live, I have found that they lack knowledge about the system and the cost structure.They are unsure how long a case will take, whether it will go to court, if they will need to pay for a solicitor's letter or pay to go to court, whether to make settlement or go to mediation. This is an area about which ordinary citizens are very unclear. Clarification as to the costs of services is very important.

Sinn Féin is of the view that the move to multidisciplinary practices is not a good idea and is not in the best interests of transparency and accountability. In my opinion, we are looking at a corporatisation of legal services which will create some very big legal firms who will potentially suck up the best and the brightest in the legal profession and make it very difficult for other people to access them. Costs will become an issue and a barrier to people using those services.

I note that multidisciplinary practice was the brain child of the former Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter. I am concerned that it is still part of the Bill. I am also perplexed as to the need for such practices. Where is the demand for this type of model? My colleague, Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, has raised this issue in the Dáil and we remain to be convinced. Sinn Féin is of the view that the proposed model deviates from international best practice where solicitors operate separately from barristers. I again refer to the issue that multidisciplinary practices will attract the best and brightest of the legal profession. As highlighted previously, this could have a significant impact in rural areas and provincial towns because it will result in a centralisation of specialised legal services in Dublin so anyone living in Tipperary, Galway, Cork or Donegal will be significantly disadvantaged and they will probably be forced to come to Dublin to avail of them. This is not a satisfactory or desirable situation. It will make it more difficult for the ordinary people to engage with legal services. I urge the Minister to scrap the multidisciplinary model in the interest of best practice.

I note also the issues to do with membership of the board of the proposed authority and in particular the comments and submission by FLAC about the type of board and authority that should be established. In the opinion of FLAC, the authority should consist of two persons nominated by the Bar Council, two persons nominated by the Law Society of Ireland, two persons nominated by the deans of law or heads of all the law schools, one person to represent the independent law centres - all which are not-for-profit organisations - one person to represent FLAC, one person to represent business interests, one person to represent consumer interests, one person representing the community and voluntary sector, and one person representing the Minister. I suggest that this recommendation should be considered. It is important that FLAC would be represented on the new authority.

The Irish language must also be taken into consideration in the formation of the board. The Referendum Commission, for example, has been unable to provide a neutral spokesperson to speak on the referendum as Gaeilge. We are informed this is due to the competencies of the people on the Referendum Commission. I do not wish to cast aspersions on any member of the Referendum Commission but when a new authority for legal services is being established it is very important to ensure that people competent in the Irish language are appointed because as noted by Senator Quinn, Irish is the first language of the State and legal issues around language can arise.

There is an issue regarding the staff in the Law Society of Ireland and the Bar Council who currently deal with complaints procedures. Approximately 20 people perform these duties between the two organisations. It is important for the Minister to inform the House what will happen to those people as there may be a benefit in subsuming those people into the new authority, bringing with them significant experience of the complaints procedures. It is also the right thing to do so that they do not lose their jobs as part of this process. It would give the authority the opportunity to hit the ground running when dealing with the issues as they arise.

Sinn Féin supports the Bill but with certain reservations. We intend to table amendments on Committee Stage. Fáiltíonn muid roimh an mBille. Ceapaim go bhfuil sé thar am go mbeadh trédhearcacht agus idirdhealú déanta maidir leis an earnáil seo ar fad agus go mbeadh sé soiléir don phobal ach go háirithe céard iad na seirbhísí a fhaigheann siad agus cén chaoi is féidir leo gearán a dhéanamh nuair is gá sin a dhéanamh.