Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 2 May 2018
103. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 105 of 25 April 2018, if the complication with the roll of barristers is beyond that which was anticipated; the details of the delay; and his views on whether a principal objective of this reform in respect of restoring public trust is at risk. [19145/18]
View answerThe Roll of Practising Barristers is a new framework being set up and maintained for the first time by the Legal Services Regulatory Authority under Part 9 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015. As I have previously conveyed, the Regulatory Authority, which is independent in the performance of its functions, has stated that it is making the necessary detailed preparations and developing the necessary staffing and other resources required both to establish the Roll and to apply it effectively on an ongoing basis. This is among those matters addressed by the Authority in its inaugural Strategic Plan for the years 2018-2020 that I have laid before the Houses earlier this week.
Under section 133(1)(b) of the 2015 Act the Authority is given six months to enter on the roll the required information about every person who is, on the date when Part 9 of the Act is commenced, a practising barrister. As has been anticipated by this provision, therefore, the setting up of the new Roll requires substantial lead-in time in order to be completed in the manner specified under the 2015 Act. The indicative timeline for the commencement and completion of this work by the Authority under its Strategic Plan is Quarter 2 and Quarter 4 of this year, respectively. I am confident, therefore, that the introduction of the Roll of Practising Barristers by the Regulatory Authority is indeed progressing as intended by way of a reform objective.
The Roll of Practising Barristers will include barristers who are members of the Law Library and would generally come under the aegis of the Bar Council. It will also now include those barristers who choose to practice outside the Law Library structure and would otherwise be unregulated. Such non Law Library barristers will need to be entered on the Roll in the same way as their Law Library counterparts if they wish to practise under the terms of the 2015 Act. It will be appreciated, therefore, that both the managed setting up of the statutory Roll that is taking place at this time, and its effective application in the future, remain key to ensuring that those who may wish to provide legal services to the public as practising barristers will do so with public confidence in a regulated setting.
