Tony Gregory (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Question 454: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on the need to deregulate the legal education market; and if he will make a statement on the matter in view of the failure of the Law Society and the Kings Inns to publish criteria for independent colleges to provide training courses for solicitors and barristers as directed by the Competition Authority. [2773/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The Competition Authority published a preliminary report on competition in legal services in February 2005 which included a number of recommendations, addressed to the Law Society and King's Inns, on the supply of legal education. The report recommended that the Law Society should issue detailed criteria by 30 September 2005 pursuant to which it will licence institutions to provide professional education courses and that King's Inns, by the same date, should also issue detailed criteria pursuant to which it will recognise barrister-at-law degrees awarded by other educational providers and allow persons awarded such degrees entry to the barrister's profession. The final report of the Competition Authority is due to be published later this year and I expect that its conclusions will take account of the views of the Law Society and King's Inns on the recommendations made in the preliminary report.

On a related matter, in December 2005 the Government approved my proposals to establish a legal services ombudsman on a statutory basis to oversee the handling of various classes of complaints against solicitors and barristers by the Law Society and Bar Council. As one of his functions, the legal services ombudsman will prepare an annual report on the numbers of persons admitted to the legal professions and an assessment of the adequacy of same having regard to the level of demand for legal services and the overall numbers of practising barristers and solicitors. The establishment of the office of the legal services ombudsman will form part of a Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill to be published in the current Dáil session.