Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I hope that as we go through the amendments and as the Bill progresses today, Senators will have an opportunity to see the substantive changes that are to be brought about. It is obviously a continuation of the work in the Dáil, as is right. In some instances, there was a framework laid out for the approach, as in respect of inspections and discipline. That has all been filled out in great detail and we will have an opportunity to go through it today.

Some of the comments made by Senators, which I appreciate were summary, do a disservice to the scope and scale of this legislation. Independent regulation is to be achieved for the first time, along with independent means of dealing with complaints. This is important. There is to be an independent statutory framework set up for the first time. I could comment on the various points. The cost regime is quite significant, as Senator Barrett should note. His point on conveyancing is addressed in the Bill, as recommended by the Competition Authority. We have taken it on board, along with any of the points the authority has made in several memoranda to the Government and several detailed responses on the way the Bill has been drafted.

The troika welcomes the Bill. It was briefed last week. We will have legal partnerships once we enact and implement this Bill. We will have legal partnerships up and running next year. That is a significant change in terms of access. Transparency and accountability are the hallmark of this Bill.

I hope that as we go through the various sections, Senators will understand what I am saying. I reject completely the idea that this is a completely new Bill. It represents detailed work on significant changes to the legal profession. Significant changes are being introduced for the first time and there is to be important new regulation, representing the right way to go. The nominating bodies for the board are the Citizens Information Board, the Higher Education Authority, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, the Institute of Legal Costs Accountants, the Consumer Association of Ireland, the Bar Council, the Legal Aid Board, the Honourable Society of King's Inns and the Law Society of Ireland. There is a mix of lay and legal representation. It is an excellent mix and will lead to the right kinds of decisions. The board is carefully balanced, with 11 members in total. There are five legal members and six lay members.

I appreciate that we need to move on to the detail of each amendment. I mentioned that there is a very detailed cost regime. A new office of legal costs adjudicators is to replace the Taxing Master.

It is to be significantly more difficult for excessive charges by lawyers to stand. The legislation makes it quicker and easier for clients to have their bills assessed and reduced, where applicable, efficiently and effectively. These are all major changes, as evident in comments by many. Let us not underestimate the scale of the change in this Bill overall, its range of sections, the range of issues it deals with in terms of the legal profession, and the groundwork it lays and framework it establishes to make progress in the years ahead.