LEGISLATION TO provide “essential reform” of the legal profession will be brought before the Cabinet within a fortnight and published by the end of the month, according to Minister for Justice Alan Shatter.
Mr Shatter said the Legal Services Bill would “modernise areas of our legal architecture that still reflect the 19th century” and address consumer concerns about the sector. It would also help meet the State’s obligations to the International Monetary Fund, he added.
“We are working on developing the Legal Services Bill which the Cabinet will have before it during the month of September and the objective is to have it published by the end of September,” he said.
Mr Shatter said extensive work on the proposed new laws had been carried out between the Department of Justice and the office of the Attorney General throughout the summer months. This interaction which began in early July would continue as the proposals were developed further. Mr Shatter said he anticipated the Bill would go before Cabinet within two weeks.
The Bill is expected to contain reforms to address high legal fees as well as the establishment of an independent regulator.
The Minister also stressed the planned legislation would “meet our EU-IMF obligations”.
The Government has given a commitment under the EU-IMF memorandum of understanding to introduce legislation to provide for changes in the regulation of the legal profession.
The EU-IMF programme identified the legal profession as a sheltered sector which required legislative changes to remove restrictions to trade and competition by the end of September.
The medical and pharmacy professions were also singled out.
“We’re not going to go into the substance of it yet. But it’s in the context of meeting our EU-IMF obligations to provide essential reforms in the area of legal services and to address the concern of consumers and also to modernise areas of our legal architecture that still reflect the 19th century,” Mr Shatter said.
He was speaking at the Curragh in Co Kildare on Saturday after the annual ceremony paying tribute to deceased members of the Defence Forces’ Cavalry Corps.
