Vol. 505 No. 6
222 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason solicitors are precluded from applying for the positions of legal advisers for the Office of the Director of Equality Investigations and the Equality Authority as advertised recently; and if he will ensure equality between both branches of the legal profession in this regard. [14339/99]
The legal advisers to be recruited from the competitions, recently advertised by the Civil Service Commission, will be the primary source – similar to the situation in the case of the legal assistants in the office of the Attorney General – for in-house legal opinion and advisory work relating to the interpretation of the new equality enactments as well as case law. As such the work for which the legal advisers are sought is in the domain of activity normally reserved for barristers and for which their training and work experience particularly fits them. In the circumstances, I consider the qualifications sought for the posts in question are appropriate.
