Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Question 216: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if, in the interests of accountability, he will introduce an ombudsman to regulate the law industry. [38670/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2006 that is before the House provides for the establishment of a Legal Services Ombudsman who will oversee the handling by the Law Society and Bar Council of three types of complaint against solicitors and barristers, namely inadequate services, excessive fees and misconduct. The key function will be to provide a form of appeal for clients of solicitors and barristers who are dissatisfied with the outcome of a complaint made to the Law Society or Bar Council.

The Ombudsman will also have a more general oversight role for those complaints procedures by examining a selection of complaints files each year taken on a random basis. Access to the legal profession will also be monitored by the Ombudsman who will report to the Minister and the Oireachtas on the adequacy of numbers admitted annually to each profession. I am satisfied that the introduction of the Legal Services Ombudsman, as a layer of oversight additional to the present self-regulating mechanisms operated by the Law Society and the Bar Council, will provide the necessary independent scrutiny to assure the public of the effectiveness and trustworthiness of the complaints process as a whole.