Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 12 May 2004
176 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will sanction the establishment of an independent commission or ombudsman to enable persons with complaints against the legal profession to have their cases independently investigated; and if not, the way these persons will have their complaints processed. [13776/04]
View answerThe purpose of a number of provisions of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act 2002 is to strengthen the disciplinary regime for solicitors. Their operation will be kept under review.
The Progressive Democrats election manifesto 2002 contains a commitment to establish an office of statutory ombudsman to protect the interests of clients of the legal profession. This commitment is not included in the Agreed Programme for Government between Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats. However, in the foreword to the agreed programme, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste state that, in Government, it is open to either party to seek to persuade colleagues to pursue any individual policy included in their respective manifestos. Accordingly, it remains open as to whether proposals to Government for the establishment of a statutory ombudsman for the legal profession will be made in the light of continuing review of this area.
