Written answers

Tuesday, 23 September 2014

Department of Justice and Equality

State Solicitors

Photo of Niall CollinsNiall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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299. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the chain of responsibility and accountability if a State solicitor fails in their duty to the court and the State in bringing forward evidence and stating matters of fact before a judge; if she has satisfied herself with the current disciplinary procedures for same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35452/14]

Photo of Frances FitzgeraldFrances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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“State Solicitor” is a grade in the Chief State Solicitors' Office and it is also the title given to the local State Solicitors who represent the various counties throughout the country. Local State Solicitors are retained by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for criminal prosecution work on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The Chief State Solicitor’s Office is a constituent element of the Office of the Attorney General and is the principal provider of solicitor services to the Attorney General and to all Government Departments and Offices. It also provides solicitor services to certain other State Agencies and acts for the State before Tribunals and Commissions of Inquiry. The Office does not act for members of the public. While not an office under my remit as Minister, it is my understanding that, under the Customer Charter of the Chief State Solicitor's Office 2011-2014, if someone has a complaint about the standard of service provided by the Office and is unable to resolve the matter with the officer concerned or his/her immediate superior, that person may refer the complaint to the Human Resources Manager, Chief State Solicitor’s Office at Osmond House, Little Ship Street, Dublin 8. In the event that the complaint cannot be resolved by the Human Resources Manager, then he/she will arrange fora review of the complaint to be carried out by a member of the Office's Management Advisory Committee nominated by the Chief State Solicitor. Under the Charter, all complaints and reviews of them will be dealt with promptly, objectively and in a consistent open and fair manner. Again, while not under my remit as Minister, it is also my understanding that, if the matter giving rise to a complaint about a State Solicitor relates to a criminal prosecution, then such a complaint should be directed to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Infirmary Road, Dublin 7, e-mail address, dpp@dppireland.ie.

More generally, under the Solicitors Acts 1954-2011 and their attendant regulations, the Law Society of Ireland, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and the Office of the Independent Adjudicator are the independent statutory bodies charged with investigating or resolving complaints against solicitors, including as may be, State Solicitors. Under the statutory complaints framework the Law Society is, therefore, the main route of redress for aggrieved clients of solicitors, outside of taking an action through the courts. The Society’s Complaints and Client Relations Committee, which includes lay members, determines complaints in relation to misconduct, inadequate services or excessive fees made directly to it by members of the public. The Society provides guidance on “making a complaint” on its website, www.lawsociety.ie.

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal deals with complaints of serious misconduct and such complaints are either referred to it by the Law Society or made directly to the Tribunal by members of the public. The Tribunal members are appointed by the President of the High Court and act independently of the Law Society. In more serious cases, where the Tribunal considers that a solicitor should be suspended or struck off it will make such a recommendation to the President of the High Court. Further details are available on the Tribunal’s website www.distrib.ie.

Members of the public who are dissatisfied with the way the Law Society has dealt with a complaint may also refer it to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (www.independentadjudicator.ie). The Office of the Independent Adjudicator was established to provide an independent point of contact to which members of the public could have recourse if dissatisfied with the manner in which the Law Society had dealt with a complaint. It is important to note that the Adjudicator’s role is to investigate the handling of the complaint by the Law Society and not to investigate the substance of the original complaint.

The Deputy will be aware that the Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011, which is due to return to Report Stage in the Dáil in the coming weeks, will establish a new, independent Legal Services Regulatory Authority with responsibility for the oversight of both solicitors and barristers. There will be a new complaints system to deal with complaints about professional misconduct and inadequate professional services independent of both the Law Society and the Bar Council backed up by a Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Tribunal. Members of the public who wish to make complaints will no longer do so through the Law Society or the Bar Council as they do at present, but through the new and independent Legal Services Regulatory Authority.

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