Handling of legal reform Bill defended

TAOISEACH Enda Kenny has defended the handling of the controversial Legal Services Regulation Bill through the Dáil and the failure to publish an impact assessment, promised before debate continued on the legislation.

Fundamental changes in the regulation of the legal profession are made in the Bill, including the establishment of a legal services regulatory authority, a disciplinary tribunal, reforms to the way fees are charged for legal services and changes in the appointment of senior counsel.

Independent TD for North Kildare Catherine Murphy expressed concern that debate on the Bill resumed yesterday, when they had been told last week it would not recommence before a regulatory impact assessment was published.

This is an analysis of the likely impact of the legislation and Ms Murphy said there was a commitment in the programme for government to provide such assessments on legislation going through the Oireachtas.

Ms Murphy, whip for the Independent group of TDs, said it was “unacceptable” that the analysis would be produced for committee stage, when it should be in place for the second stage, or introductory Dáil debate.

She added that it was very difficult to work when a “legitimate expectation” of what was on the order of business was not fulfilled.

Ms Murphy insisted second stage should not have started in December, but certainly “should not be resumed until we receive the regulatory impact assessment”.

Mr Kenny said there was a “great deal of interest” in the Bill and they were still “on the first round of speakers”.

There would have to be an analysis of all the comments made by all deputies at the end of the initial or second stage debate.

Ms Murphy insisted, “A regulatory impact assessment is fundamental to second stage to understand how a Bill was teased out.

“We should have it in advance of second stage,” she said. “There is no point doing this three-quarters of the way through the process.”

The Taoiseach insisted the Bill was “enormous and it makes very great changes to the provision of legal services”.

An assessment would be provided, but he said it was on committee stage when changes were made to the Bill and at this stage that “a great deal of consultation” would take place.

During yesterday’s ongoing debate on the legislation Mary Mitchell O’Connor (FG, Dún Laoghaire) said the current training and education system for solicitors was unfair. The current system “is expensive, it is not student-friendly and it is putting up road blocks for a large number of our students”.

She said that just 42 per cent or 729 of the approximately 1,712 students who took the exams in 2007 qualified in 2010.