The Gazette 1972

(ii) Much legally-aided work is not remunerative for solicitors so that many of them are reluctant to accept many of the type of legally-aided cases which promise to be excessively time-consuming. (iii) Greatest defect is that there are many people who would benefit by going to a solicitor but who do not do so because : (a) of insufficient publicity for both the Legal Advice and Legal Aid Scheme; (b) there are not enough solicitors in the required areas—in many areas there are no solicitors' offices and working people find difficulty in visiting solicitors' offices which are open only during working hours; (c) reluctance to consult a solicitor because of their attitude to lawyers and the law generally as some- thing to keep well clear of. The law merely conjures up visions for them of policemen and trouble; (d) failure to recognise that legal remedies may be available e.g. a man gets a notice to quit, brings it to a housing authority or the man who gets notice from a hire purchase company to pay off arrears of pay- ments on goods that may have been defective goes to a moneylender rather than a solicitor. Conscious of these defects, the Law Society issued a Memorandum which was followed by Reports of the Society of Labour Lawyers and the Society, of Conser- vative Lawyers, a second memorandum from the Law Society and then in 1970 a report of the Advisory Committee on the Better Provision of Legal Aid and Assistance which more or less agreed with the proposals (1) £25 scheme which is now going through the machinery of legislation and is expected to be enacted shortly. Anyone whose means allow will be able to go to a solicitor on the panel and get legal advice and assis- tance by filling in a simple form regarding his means and where the means are above a certain level paying by instalments or otherwise a contribution towards the costs. Investigation regarding resources is done by the solicitor himself or his clerk. Short of actual litigation which would be dealt with under the Legal Aid Scheme and drawing of documents which would require' prior approval the solicitor would do anything that was necessary costing up to £25. Prior approval would be necessary if the solicitor's costs would be over £25. This scheme would enable legal advice to be given more readilv and with less red tape. (2) Second proposal, which is intended to overcome the problems of inaccessibility of solicitors' offices and the failure to associate lawyers with poor peoples' prob- lems, is the establishment of local legal centres with full- time salaried solicitors and secretarial staff. The Law Society would run these centres in conjunction with relevant local organisations and services. In England in the 1940s. the Committee Report prior to the establishment of the present legal advice and aid of the Law Society's second memorandum. Proposals for better provision of legal aid These proposals were :

scheme undrr 1949 legislation, recommended the estab- lishment of a number of centres where legal advice would be given by solicitors employed whole or part- time for that purpose. This was never implemented and instead a legal advice scheme was introduced so that no alteration was made to the existing organisation and framework of the legal profession. Establishment of local legal centres proposed It is interesting that now nearly twenty-five years later, it is recommended in the recent reports referred to, to revert to the original proposals because of the problems and ineffectiveness of the present scheme. The establishment of these local legal centres with salaried solicitors might be more economical and more effective in providing legal help for the less well-off sections of the community than the existing English scheme. If we are prepared and have done our homework and research properly we could bypass the faults of the English scheme when a civil legal aid scheme is initiated in Ireland. As a matter of interest I worked out that the cost of such a local legal centre which could continue to use voluntary help in preliminary interviewing would, if levied on the Local Authorities result in an increase of about 3p in the £ on the rates, based on the rate recently struck by Dun Laoire Corporation. In 1970 Irish Jurist, Desmond Green, suggested that controlled experiments of such centres should be initi- ated to test the validity of the hypotheses as regards economy and efficiency in relation to Ireland. Nothing has since been done, in this regard. I suggest the establishment of a sub-committee or working party of the Society of Young Solicitors to study the optional schemes of legal aid and advice which could be set up here and in particular the feasibility of local legal centres with salaried solicitors. The Free Legal Aid Centres are in the process of ex- panding — a new Centre is being opened on Thursday, 9th December in Ballymun and we have been asked to open Centres in three other areas. However more Solicitors are needed for these new Centres and some more are required for the existing Centres. At present the Centres and the night on which they open are: — Ballyfermot: Wednesday night; Rialto: Wednesday night; If any Solicitors are interested in assisting the Organ- isation he should write stating his name, address and what Centre he would prefer, if possible, to be asked to attend. Please write to: John Glackin, Chairman F.L.A.C., Ozanam House, Mountjoy Square, Dublin 1, or 10 Seafield Avenue, Clontarf, Dublin 3. Mountjoy Square: Wednesday night; Molesworth Street: Tuesday night; Crumlin: Friday night; Ballymun: Thursday night.

SOLICITORS' GOLFING SOCIETY

94, Merrion Square,

OUTINGS 1972: Dublin, 2. ^RES IDENTS PRIZE (James W. O'Donovan) Friday, 23rd June, 1972, at DELGANY GOLF CLUB. CAPTAIN'S PRIZE (Thomas D. Shaw) Saturday, 30th September, 1972, at MULLINGAR. H. N. ROBINSON, Hon. Secretary. 153