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

This group of amendments deals with the establishment and procedures of a new complaints committee. Amendment No. 68 is a key provision which obliges the authority to refer a complaint to the complaints committee where it has determined that the complaint is an admissible complaint, and we have already discussed the range of areas where a complaint can be made or where the matter has not been resolved in accordance with the informal procedures. This amendment deals with the way that will be handled. The membership of the complaints committee is outlined in detail.

Amendment No. 70inserts a new section 60 relating to the investigation of complaints referred by the authority to a divisional committee. It gives details of the exact procedures that must be followed when referring the authority to the divisional committee and the duties of a divisional committee regarding an investigation. Where the committee considers that the complaint could be resolved under sections 51or52, it shall refer the complaint to the authority for further action. The options available to the divisional committee are spelt out in the legislation also. There is also a subsection that provides that where the committee considers that the act or omission warrants the imposition of a sanction, it may issue a direction to the legal practitioner to take such measures as the committee considers appropriate. It goes into all the details of how complaints will be dealt with, the sanctions that can apply, the action that can be taken and the way the committee will work.

There is a list of measures which may be imposed by the committee. I would bring the attention of Senators to those, a number of which I will read out. They include a direction to the practitioner to perform or complete the legal service concerned; a direction to arrange for the completion of the legal service; a direction to complete specified modules of continuing professional development, which is looking at the professional development issue; a direction to the practitioner to put aside all fees that were associated with the legal service; a direction to the practitioner to refund all or some of the fees already paid for the legal service; a direction to the practitioner to take any other action in the interest of the complainant; a direction to withdraw or amend an advertisement; a direction to pay a sum not exceeding €5,000 as compensation; a direction to pay to the authority a sum to cover the costs of the investigation; and a direction to pay to the authority an additional sum where the practitioner did not co-operate with the committee. A range of issues are dealt with in those measures. There is also the section that deals with appeals to the disciplinary tribunal by legal practitioners against determination of the divisional committee or a sanction imposed by a divisional committee.

Section 63 provides that the authority shall, every six months, which I believe is an appropriate timeframe, publish a report outlining the number and type of complaints received, which is why I said there is transparency in this Bill; the nature and outcome of the complaints; the number of complaints referred to the complaints committee; and the number of those complaints which were determined by the complaints committee, including details on sanctions imposed.

While I appreciate the intentions behind Senator Barrett's amendments, I do not propose to accept them because the number of members and the divisions of the new complaints committee of the Regulatory Authority is intended to facilitate the efficient processing of the thousands of complaints that will come before the Regulatory Authority based on current caseloads. Halving the committee's membership along the lines proposed would immediately create a backlog about which I would be concerned. This section goes into detail on how complaints are being dealt with, the responsibilities of various committees, the issues that can be dealt with and the sanctions that can be imposed. It deals with all the relevant issues around those provisions. As Senator Barrett can see, this list of issues and sanctions is strong and supportive of consumers who may have concerns about the kind of legal service they have received.