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

Amendments Nos. 2 and 3 set out the date of coming into operation of the new legal partnerships model being introduced under the Bill, which is to be within six months of the completion of the relevant public consultations. This will allow for the new legal partnerships, barrister-barrister or barrister-solicitor, to be introduced within a year of the establishment of the new regulatory authority. I would hope to see the first of these coming into existence before the end of 2016.

The other amendments have been tabled by Senators Cullinane, Ó Clochartaigh and Reilly. Obviously, if I accepted these amendments, I would be stripping the Bill of a central part of the alternative business models it proposes by way of structural reform of the legal services sector. As this would run totally against Government policy as expressed in this part of the Bill, I cannot accept this cluster of amendments. Indeed, it is not only the Government’s view as a series of reports going back to 1982, including one by the Competition Authority in 2006, have expressed the clear view that people should be given a choice in how legal services are provided. Moreover, that no choice is to be given to consumers of legal services and that we just stay with the status quo,as suggested by these amendments, is the very antithesis of what this Bill is about. We will have to differ on those amendments.