Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 39:

In page 35, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following:"(d) the right of direct access to a barrister other than through a solicitor;".

This amendment concerns right of access to a barrister without the need to have a solicitor present. It could be a major way of cutting costs in the system. There are barristers in the Law Library who cannot be approached except through a solicitor which adds to costs. A later section increases the right of access. I will support the Minister on that section, but it only applies where a matter is non-contentious. As an outsider, it seems that most of what barristers do is contentious. We have a high cost legal system which the Minister is seeking to correct. We support her in that regard and the issue has been spoken about for a long time. I gather it is a Bar Council rule, but why, if people have degrees and qualifications, can we not talk to them without having a third party present, given that it seriously adds to costs? The proposal to reduce costs has been around for long time. Partly because of the recession, to which the Minister referred the last day, there is a surplus of barristers who have the required knowledge, are young and enthusiastic. Why can we not talk to them without having a solicitor present, thus imposing extra costs on the transaction? I do not know what the analogy might be. One can talk to a pharmacist without a doctor being present and the professions are interlinked. If I want to speak to a barrister and take advice from him or her, why should this not be allowed? Why should it not be deemed to be a priority? We should immediately address the issue of why people cannot talk to a barrister without a solicitor being present.