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

I take the Senator's point but this provision is in the Bill and it is very important. There will be much work in the first year for the authority to do and although there is some flexibility, a timeframe is laid down. The point was raised earlier about the size of this authority. We are not establishing an enormous new body because we want a small but efficient authority. We are talking about it having approximately 30 or 40 staff, although that may change.

The Competition Authority agreed with the idea that the Law Society would keep the financial compensation fund.If we were to move all the functions across, we would be talking about a completely different type of body. I want to make the point that this would have enormous resource implications. I remind Senator Barrett that there was absolute cross-party agreement on the transfer of the staff who are coming across. There is a need to recognise the expertise of the staff in the establishment of a new body. I emphasise that this is being done under independent management. That is the key point. Less than half of the staff - approximately 18 people - are transferring across. We often talk about the need for expertise and skill in the handling of complaints. While that is the reality of what has happened in the past, there is now completely independent management. We have a timeframe for the various pieces of work to be done by the legal services regulatory authority. We cannot ask it to do absolutely everything in the first year. We have to be realistic about the various tasks given to any new body. However, we have said that the legal partnerships need to be up and running within six months. By allowing these new partnerships, we will introduce competition into the market and change the way legal services are provided. We are also putting those barristers who are currently operating outside the Bar Council on a statutory basis.