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

Amendment No. 98 as proposed by Senator Barrett would prevent the new regulatory authority from raising a levy on those barristers who will be regulated by it and who choose to practise outside the Law Library model. It would also prevent the authority from issuing the relevant notice to those practitioners or professional bodies which would give rise to its regulatory costs each year. I am not sure if that was the Senator's intention but this would be the impact of the amendment. I would be concerned about this. The complaints and the work that arises from them in respect of each branch of the profession will determine the levy which is payable on the basis of the actual costs incurred by each branch the previous year. It will be ongoing and the levy will be calculated on the previous year's costs of the work that needed to be done by the authority and the number of complaints incurred by each branch.