Vol. 359 No. 8
asked the Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism the legislative steps he proposes taking concerning the restrictions on conveyancing and the restrictions on advertising by solicitors having regard in particular to the recommendations in the recent report of the Restrictive Practices Commission.
15.
asked the Minister for Industry, Trade, Commerce and Tourism when he proposes to lay the Report of the Restrictive Practices Commission on the legal profession before the Houses of the Oireachtas.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 and 15 together. The Restrictive Practices Commission's Report of Inquiry into the effects on competition of the restrictions on conveyancing and on advertising by solicitors was laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas on 22 february.
I will be submitting to the Government shortly proposals to amend the Restrictive Practices Act, 1972, one of which will be necessary to enable me to give effect to two of the recommendations. The remaining recommendations will require amendments to the Solicitors Acts, which are the responsibility of the Minister for Justice.
Could I take it that the two restrictive practices orders that the Minister contemplates in the immediate future would be dealing with making it unlawful for lending institutions to refuse money by way of an advance to purchasers of property and housing on the grounds that they were not represented by a solicitor and with the question of advertising by solicitors with or without charges being incorporated in the advertisement?
The Attorney General's Office advised me that I cannot bring forward the orders without amending legislation. The recommendations which I would be implementing under the Restrictive Practices Act, when amended, are the following: the recommendation for a restrictive practices order prohibiting the agencies and solicitors from refusing to treat with non-solicitors involved in conveyancing, and an order to make it unlawful for lending agencies to charge their solicitor's fees to the house buyer. All the others will be dealt with under the Solicitors Acts.
The Minister will be aware that one of the recommendations in the report suggested that it would be proper to have an order made concerning the advertising by solicitors. I do not think that that would require amending legislation. Would the Minister now consider submitting a further order to deal with that matter, seeing that he is taking the issue of the lending agencies into account?
The commission's principal recommendations do not include a reference to advertising generally. I have not got the information which the Deputy requests on that point.
I think it is chapter 7, paragraphs 2 to 12. Page 114 might be of help to the Minister where they make reference to it.
My intention once the legislation is amended is to introduce orders in regard to the matters I have mentioned. On the question of restriction in advertising generally, I am unable to give an indication of the position. I have also asked the Restrictive Practices Commission to look at restrictions in the professions generally and restrictions on advertising will be one of the issues they will be looking at first.
I am asking the Minister to reconsider the same question about advertising. At the same time will he take an early opportunity to indicate to the general public the disciplinary machinery that exists under the existing law society in the question of solicitors' practice and also the existence of a compensation fund to protect clients? I think very few of the general public recognise that this machinery exists and it could be of considerable help to clients who had difficulty. That has been expressed here by backbenchers in the Minister's party in the recent past. He might take an early opportunity of making that information available to the general public.
I can indicate to the Deputy that there is a recommendation, as he indicated, concerning restrictions on advertising. The matter is being dealt with in the context of the Solicitors Acts by the Minister for Justice. As to the other matters the Deputy has mentioned in his more recent supplementary, they also are being dealt with in the context of the Solicitors Acts.
A final supplementary. When the Minister refers to the Solicitors Acts is he contemplating the introduction of amending legislation in the reasonably near future including a provision for professional indemnity insurance for solicitors who are dealing with conveyancing? This was a major recommendation of the report and it would give very much needed added protection to the general public in the area of conveyancing.
The Solicitors Acts are a matter for the Minister for Justice and will be dealt with by him. It is not for me to indicate the timing.
