Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Question 173: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will outline his correspondence with the IMF on the Legal Services Regulation Bill; his views on the commitments he has given in that correspondence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8889/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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The correspondence under reference between my Department and the IMF about the Legal Services Regulation Bill has, in fact, taken place at official level. My Department's involvement was the outcome of a telephone call received from IMF Washington on 17 January seeking an update on the progress of the Legal Services Regulation Bill following its resumption of Second Stage. The IMF also indicated that it was preparing its own letter of reply to separate correspondence received by its Managing Director in December from the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA). The letter to the IMF Managing Director, which was widely reported in the Irish media, had raised concerns about recent trends and their potential impact on the independence of the legal profession in countries subject to IMF support, including Ireland.

My Department agreed to provide an updated response to the concerns raised by means of an official letter to IMF Washington. Moreover, I was happy to agree that the Department's response could, if considered appropriate, be enclosed by the IMF in its reply to the correspondence of the international legal professional bodies. My Department's letter issued to IMF Washington on 31 January 2012. The IMF's own reply to the international legal bodies was issued on 3 February with my Department's letter enclosed for cross-reference. This complete correspondence was posted on the website of the Bar Council (it being the affiliate of the professional organisations who had written to the IMF) on 7 February where it remains available to the general public.

The letter issued by my Department to the IMF on 31 January very openly draws from my statement to the House at the opening of Second Stage of the Legal Services Regulation Bill on 16 December 2011. It confirms the Bill's fundamental upholding of the independence of the legal professions and of the professional principles at several points, notably in Part 2, section 9; that I am taking positive steps to reinforce the independence of the new Legal Services Regulatory Authority from any perception of executive control or interference; my anticipation of a number of amendments to obviate the need for Ministerial consents, e.g. in relation to professional codes of conduct. The letter also reiterates my invitation for similarly constructive suggestions that might enhance the Bill's regulatory framework within the Government's stated policy objective of independent regulation. It notes the broad support, including that of the two professional bodies, already enjoyed by the modernised legal costs regime provided under Part 9 of the Bill and welcomes the historic step recently taken by the Law Society in lending its support, in the best interests of the public and the profession, to the independent complaints procedures being introduced under the Bill.

In recognising that there already has been positive movement towards addressing the concerns about independence and the regulatory interface with Government raised by the international legal bodies with the IMF, the Department's letter highlights the continuing opportunity for dialogue that exists for all stake-holders, including the professional bodies. I will be returning to these and other aspects of the Bill in my forthcoming statement to the House for the closing of Second Stage.