Pádraig MacLochlainn
Question:518. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the consultation that has taken place on the Legal Services Regulation Bill. [23719/13]
View answerTuesday, 21 May 2013
Questions (518)
Written answers
Consultations in relation to the Legal Services Regulation Bill have been ongoing since its publication in November 2011 as a key structural reform under the EU/IMF/ECB Memorandum of Understanding. A wide range of stake-holders have now provided views on the Bill reflecting its modern balance of interests between those of the legal professions and those of business or private clients who avail of legal services. This process has included the very detailed Second Stage debate of the Bill which took place from 16 December 2011 to 23 February 2012. The following July, in supporting discussion of the Bill, my Department hosted a conference on "Regulatory Reform for a 21st Century Legal Profession" with guest speakers from home and abroad who shared their experiences of legal sector reform including the Legal Services Commissioner of New South Wales and the Chief Executive of the Legal Services Board for England and Wales. In terms of written submissions, I have received just under 50 since publication of the Bill representing nearly 30 interested parties along with dozens of individual letters from concerned members of the public and practitioners and the formal observations of other Government Departments. The submissions have come from a wide range of bodies including the main legal professional bodies and associations, academics, civil liberties and human rights organisations, private businesses and government entities. For their part, the Law Society, the Bar Council and the King's Inns have provided substantive views which are among those to which consideration continues to be given. In addition, over the past 18 months both I and my officials have, together and separately, had meetings with various interested groups and bodies. Alongside those representing the legal professions, these have included such entities as the Competition Authority, the Consumers' Association and the Committee of Heads of Irish University Law Schools. The fruits of these ongoing consultations and submissions will be reflected in the amendments I intend to make to the Bill at Committee Stage in July and I have already identified a number of specific areas of the Bill where this will be the case. As I have previously announced, amendments to the Bill will be made available for consideration prior to the commencement of Committee Stage and, pending that event, I continue to encourage, receive and consider submissions on the Bill.