Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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557. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the reason for the delay in the commencement of provisions in the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 whereby efficient oversight and public interest provisions of the Act can be implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16010/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The setting-up of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority is very much work in progress and has been underway on a number of fronts since July 2016. At that time Parts 1 and 2 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 were commenced as necessary to get the new Authority appointed and underway. The Authority, which is independent in the performance of its functions under the 2015 Act, has convened regularly since its inaugural meeting on 26 October 2016 - minutes of its meetings are available on its website www.LSRA.ie. The challenge has been to ensure that the roll-out of the various components of the Authority's regulatory functions in a legally robust manner can be aligned, to the satisfaction of the Authority, with its anticipated working resources as an independent regulator.

It will be recalled that, during its initial year of establishment, the Legal Services Regulatory Authority has been deeply engaged in the conduct of public consultations and in the making of five reports on a series of new options for the provision of legal services under sections 118 to 120 of the Act which were also commenced. It had been obliged to complete these within strictly set deadlines running from its day of establishment on 1 October 2016. All of these reports have now been laid, as required under the 2015 Act, before the Houses of the Oireachtas while also being publicly accessible on the Authority’s website. As reflected in the 2015 Act and the relevant reports completed by the Authority, the Government continues to give policy priority to the introduction of Legal Partnerships between barristers or barristers and solicitors by way of early structural reform in the way in which legal services are available to consumers.

Alongside its other ongoing consultation and reporting commitments, the current working focus of the Authority is, I understand, very much on the managed roll-out of its remaining functions. This includes the matching development of the organisational capacities and office and staffing resources essential to effective delivery. It also includes the necessary preparatory steps for the establishment and application of the new Roll of Practicing Barristers under which both Law Library and non-Law Library practicing barristers will be regulated, for the first time under legislation, by the Authority. This will also be a pre-requisite for the exercise by the Authority of its public complaints functions. A further key area under development is that of the application of the levy that is to be made on both practicing solicitors and practicing barristers under Part 7 of the 2015 Act. Funding support of €1 million has recently been provided to the Authority from the Justice Vote for 2017. This follows an advance of the same amount that was provided from my Department’s 2016 Vote and a similar allocation is being made for 2018.

It should also be recalled that in parallel to the introduction of enhanced legal costs transparency obligations on legal practitioners under the 2015 Act, extensive legal and technical preparations are also continuing separately within the courts system to complete the transition of the Office of the Taxing-Master to that of the Legal Costs Adjudicators.

Following these steps, the key structural reforms of Part 6 of the 2015 Act relating to public complaints, professional conduct and the appointment of the Legal Practitioners' Disciplinary Tribunal dealing with both solicitors and barristers, will be commenced. It is considered that this component of the Act will underpin the entire new regulatory regime in terms of its observance and enforcement and by way of safeguarding the public interest. I will, of course, continue to emphasise the importance which I attach as Minister to the objective of getting the Authority open for business on the core public complaints function as quickly as is reasonably possible while also bearing in mind the risks and complexities which the Authority is having to carefully manage to bring that about. This work has been augmented by the appointment by the Authority last autumn of its first full-time Chief Executive, Dr. Brian Doherty, along with its securing of enhanced office accommodation.

The Regulatory Authority will soon be submitting its first full-year Annual Report having previously submitted a report for quarter three of 2016. It is actively preparing to conduct the first periodic review of the operation of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 as required under section 6 of that Act. Arrangements are also at an advanced stage to fill, with the necessary approval of each House of the Oireachtas, a casual vacancy that has arisen on the Authority due to the appointment of an existing member to the judiciary. Work is ongoing between the Authority and my Department on a new Corporate Governance Assurance Agreement. The Authority is also preparing to conduct statutory consultations and to report on the education and training arrangements in the State for legal practitioners.

At this point, the Authority is nearing completion of the necessary analysis of the staffing needs and resources required to allow it to support the ongoing roll out of its functions to a structured and achievable timetable and intends to begin additional recruiting to key posts in the near future. Within the past week it has submitted its first Strategic Plan covering the period 2018–2020 as required under section 20 of the 2015 Act which I will be laying before the Houses in the coming days. The Plan sets out the Authority's key priorities and objectives for the next three years including indicative timelines for the coming into operation of its remaining functions. Both I and my Department will, therefore, continue to work closely with the Authority to enable it to come into substantive regulatory mode at the earliest opportunity including in the independent delivery of its strategic objectives.