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

Amendment No. 24 has been tabled by Senators Barrett and Quinn. It proposes to insert a reference to the disparity of costs arising in regard to a grant of probate as between a lawyer and a lay person. While I can see that this is intended to highlight this specific issue there are numerous other issues like this which I am sure the new regulatory authority will, undoubtedly, be dealing with. As the section to which the amendment is proposed concerns the public awareness functions of the new authority I do not want to turn it into a list of all of those issues that the new legal authority will need to address. I do not want to accept the proposed amendment but it is not because I do not believe that the legal services regulatory authority will have to deal with this issue. As has been said, it is a cost anomaly and it is an example of the kind of issue that the new legal regulatory authority will be empowered to deal with. There are many such examples. I do not think, from a legislative point of view, to begin to include a particular one is the way to go. This is the type of issue that the legal services regulatory authority will examine under the costs issue.