The Gazette 1983

GAZETTE

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1983

were not part of the solicitor's designated clients' account. He felt that the Compensation Fund Committee should make it quite clear that a solicitor acting as.an Executor, should place funds received in the course of administration in or through the designated client account. Supporting Mr. Mellon, Mr. Q. Crivon said there should be a practice direction by the Society in the matter. Mr. J. Donovan asked what policy the Society would follow if the claims on the Compensation Fund were to increase. In his view, especially in the present recession, the members could not afford to go on increasing their contributions to the Fund. Mr. E. Margetson for the Compensation Fund Committee commented that this was the price which had to be paid if the profession wished to remain as a self- governing body. Mr. G. Doyle endorsed Mr. Margetson's comments. Mr. Q. Crivon referred to the problem likely to be created for the Fund by young solicitors setting up on their own with very limited experience. The Society should get power to deal with this situation. Mr. D. Moran urged the Society to put criminal proceedings in hand in the case of those auditors who had given false account- ant's certificates. Mr. E. Margetson commented that civil proceedings had already been put in hand but that he had some doubts about being in a position to take successful criminal proceedings. Education In reply to Mr. T.C.G. O'Mahony, Mr. F. Daly for the Education Committee indicated that the surplus arising from the C.L.E. Courses was retained in the Education Department to improve equipment and other teaching aids. Mr. D. Pigot asked that a fresh look be taken at the limitation to two attempts on the Entry Examination to the Law School. He said that the existing arrangement was putting extreme pressure on candidates. He asked that the matter be referred to the incoming President with a view to a re-examination of the situation. Costs Mr. Q. Crivon commented that the report at paragraph 2.7 was almost verbatim that of previous years. No progress had been made in adjusting court and other costs and at the same time the profession was seeing audit fees rising at a rapid rate. The Director General reported in detail on the overall costs situation. Mr. T.C.G. O'Mahony asked why the profession should allow itself to be tied to statutory scales which were long outdated. He advocated Solicitors drawing up their own bills on a time or other more realistic basis. His suggestion received general support. Courts In reply to Mr. D. Moran, the President explained that quite an amount of time over the year had been spent on efforts to break the existing deadlock in the District Court Clerks Dispute. Representations had been made and recently he had issued a further hard-

hitting letter to the Minister for Justice. Mr. Q. Crivon asked if the Society's Public Relations Committee had considered the situation. The President commented that the Galway Bar Association had advertised in the local papers in relation to the dispute. Mr. J. Buckley replying to Mr. Crivon's question said that the dispute had been going on for so long that the media and the general public appeared to accept that it existed as a normal state. He understood that Mamdamus proceedings had been brought by the Bar. Mr. Crivon urged that as with any other industrial dispute at the present time, the Society should consider informing the public by way of advertisement in the public press. Concluding the discussion Mr. L. Mellon said he would like to follow up his earlier remarks on the Compensation Fund by complimenting the Committee on its activities over the year. The Report of the Council was adopted on the proposition of Mr. J. Maher seconded by Mrs. M. Quinlan. Audited Accounts and Balance Sheet Mr. M. Curran said that as Chairman of the Finance Committee, he was proposing the adoption of the accounts subject to further discussion with the auditors. Mr. T. Shaw seconded the proposition. Mr. G. Doyle commented on the various items of expenditure in the Report and asked that the incoming Council take note that there should be a cut back in expenditure. Mr. G. Glynn, thought that the Council and the Committees were doing an excellent job with the limited resources available to the Society. Mr. Curran and the Director General, Mr. J.J. Ivers dealt with detailed queries from Mr. Q. Crivon on deferred subscriptions, auditors fees and staff costs. In reply to Mr. M. Murphy, the Director General said that the accounts of the Law Club of Ireland were being audited and that a general meeting would be held in April. Mr. D. Moran suggested that the particular general meeting might be held in conjunction with the half yearly meeting of t he S o c i e t y. T h e P r e s i d e n t n o t ed t he recommendation. On the Law School account, Mr. J. Glynn, suggested that there should be a subsidization of the students by the older members since, with the present level of law school fees, that was the only way in which the potential recruits to the profession would come from a broad spectrum of social origin. The accounts and balance sheet were then put to the meeting and adopted subject to the further discussion with the auditors. Election of Auditors The President said that this item could not be taken pending the final clearance of the accounts. The item would be dealt with by the Council in accordance with the Bye Laws. Bond Scheme Draw Mrs. Caroline Slator, with the approval of the meeting, supervised the draw and the following bonds were drawn.

12