Solicitors should have an independent regulator, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern told the Dáil.
Mr Ahern said he was not satisfied that self-regulation, as it had been operated over the years, was the best model.
"Total self-regulation does not provide the impression that the public interest is best served in a transparent way, notwithstanding the fact that the overwhelming majority are doing a good job."
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny asked if the Government accepted the Competition Authority's recommendation for the appointment of an independent legal commission.
"I pose the question in the context that everybody has to deal with their legal representatives at some stage in their lives and the regulations should be clearly understood by all consumers. While the vast majority of practising solicitors do their job as they should, the situation should be watertight and above board."
Mr Ahern replied that the answer was "yes", adding that the Government had examined the authority's report.
"That may not be the only model that can be taken, but the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform is examining it . . . There are other models including, for example, the Accounting Standards Association, which supervises accountants and is regulated by law.
"There is a lay majority on that body which works well on a professional and an individual level. It was recently established by law.
"There is not a huge difference between the accountancy and the legal professions. It was thought necessary to establish such a body for the accountancy sector and that model is working. Increasingly, both of those professions work closely.
"The deputy has seen what is happening in the IFSC and the related legal practices. That is a model, therefore, that the legal profession should consider. The department is examining the position, however."
Generally speaking, said Mr Ahern, self-regulation was not now seen as a great idea internationally. "Someone would have to work hard to convince me that self-regulation works, because that is not the case. In all its reports, the Competition Authority indicated that the concept of self-regulation is not the way of the future."
Earlier, Mr Kenny said that a number of high-profile cases were proceeding through the courts. He was concerned that the profession's credibility was diminished by activities arising from those circumstances.
"Obviously, at the end of the day, consumers will have to pick up the tab, either through higher solicitors' fees or higher bank charges." Mr Ahern said he did not dispute that some of the individuals, who were now the source of investigations, were investigated a number of years ago and got a clean bill of health.
Mr Kenny said that independent commissions of the type recommended by the authority already worked very well in Northern Ireland, England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand, and seemed to enhance the reputation and credibility of the profession.
