Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 June 2016
101. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if it will be necessary to produce statutory instruments prior to commencement with respect to legal services regulation; when she will complete this; if she is being lobbied on matters related to commencing the reform; and the budget she requires for 2017. [15334/16]
View answer102. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the steps she has taken to develop a robust protected disclosure process to underpin the new legal services regulation oversight system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15335/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 101 and 102 together.
As previously conveyed to the House, preparations for the phased commencement of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 are already underway. In keeping with normal procedures this will be formalised in a series of Statutory Instruments. A necessary first step in preparation for these commencements is the appointment of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority after which the Authority will appoint its own Chief Executive. I can confirm that nominations to the new Legal Services Regulatory Authority have been received from the relevant nominating bodies as set out in the Legal Services Regulation Act. The appointment by Government of the relevant nominees under the various criteria set out in the Act will then be subject to approval by resolution of both Houses of the Oireachtas. The Government will appoint one of the lay members of the Authority to be Chairperson. At the same time, preparations are also being made in support of the public recruitment, by the new Regulatory Authority, of its Chief Executive whose terms and functions are similarly set out in the 2015 Act. A start-up support team is being established and a suitable premises is being identified from which the new Authority can commence its operations.
These are the initial steps that will enable the members and Chief Executive of the new Regulatory Authority to spear-head the coming into operation of the new legal services regulatory regime. This stage will also include the phased commencement, under the appropriate Statutory Instruments, of the Parts of the Act such as those dealing with legal costs, the new Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicator, the Roll of Practising Barristers and Pre-Action Protocols. Under section 7 of the 2015 Act, I will also, by order, appoint a day to be the establishment day for the purposes of the Act.
Following establishment of the Authority and appointment of a Chief Executive the key provisions centred around Part 6 of the Act dealing with the new public complaints and professional conduct and disciplinary procedures, and the appointment of the new Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, will be commenced. The managed commencement of these functions is planned for the Autumn in order to allow adequate time and preparation to ensure their effectiveness and success as crucial components of the new regulatory framework. It should be noted that, under the relevant transitional provisions contained in the 2015 Act, complaints already made to the Law Society under the Solicitors Acts will be brought to completion under that framework and existing law.
In support of the planned and managed commencement of the relevant Parts of the 2015 Act proposed, as I have outlined, between now and the end of this year, an allocation of €1 million has been made under the Justice Vote for 2016 as set-up support for the new Regulatory Authority. This will be provided on a recoupable basis. As an independent corporate body under statute the new Authority will have the power to manage the conduct of its affairs and its finances. The annual running cost of the new Legal Services Regulatory Authority, including the new complaints regime and Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal which will deal with both solicitors and barristers, is estimated at a figure of €4.5 million. Once in operation, the new regulatory regime will be self-funding by means of a levy on the regulated legal professions under the terms set out in the 2015 Act.
As far as any lobbying may be concerned, there is broad public interest being expressed in general correspondence with my Department in support of the early implementation of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 and its package of structural reforms. This has been conveyed positively with the emphasis to date being on the roll-out of the new legal costs transparency measures, the coming into operation of the new public complaints framework and the commencement of the process for the introduction of pre-action protocols in medical negligence cases.
In relation to protected disclosure, I very much share the concern of the Deputy that the new legal services regulatory regime be bolstered by robust protected disclosure safeguards. The Deputy will be aware that the legal services sector-specific measures on protected disclosure, which were in the original Legal Services Regulation Bill as published in 2011, were overtaken by the enactment of the Protected Disclosures Act in 2014, which now provides a comprehensive suite of employment and other protections to whistle-blowers who are penalised by their employer or suffer a detriment from a third party on account of raising concerns regarding possible wrongdoing in their workplace. This is a key pubic interest issue on which there has been detailed consultation between officials of my Department and those of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, which leads on policy in this area. The protection being afforded by the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 to persons making disclosures under the the new Legal Services Regulation Act will be kept under active review by both Departments to ensure that the Acts are mutually reinforcing. The underlying objective is, therefore, to provide and to maintain a coherent protected disclosure regime for all concerned under the over-arching Protected Disclosures Act 2014 and to keep it under regular review.
