Anne Ferris (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 702: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if all unimplemented recommendations from the Competition Authority in its report on the legal professions will be implemented in the proposed legal services Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24055/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The Programme of the Government for National Recovery 2011-2016 undertakes to "establish independent regulation of the legal profession to improve access and competition, make legal costs more transparent and ensure adequate procedures for addressing consumer complaints". These undertakings complement those structural reforms in the EU-IMF Programme of Financial Support for Ireland aimed at removing restrictions to trade and competition relating to the legal professions and legal costs, namely to establish an independent regulator for the legal professions and implement the recommendations of the Legal Costs Working Group; and to implement the outstanding Competition Authority recommendations to reduce legal costs. The commitment of the Government is to a strategy that is comprehensive, provides more independent regulation of the legal professions, better regulates legal costs and will ensure that the complaints procedures are as effective as possible. The strategy, when implemented, will improve the overall system of delivery of legal services in the State. The details of my proposals for implementation of the various commitments I have mentioned will be announced by way of publication of the Legal Services Bill early in this session.