The Gazette 1984

INCORPORATED LAW SOCIETY OF IRELAND GAZETTE

October 1984

Vol. 78 No. 8

Comment

In this issue

T HE reports for 1981 and 1982 of the Civil Legal Aid Board have not yet appeared, allegedly because of difficulties with the Comptroller and Auditor General about one aspect of the Board's accounts. It is ironic that this should be the case because when the Board's last report was published in 1981, for the year 1980, we were able to praise the Board for including in that report comments on matters which had actually arisen after the year end. It is most unsatisfactory that the reports have now fallen so much into arrear and that no comprehensive statement of the Board's activities in recent years is available. There is however sufficient evidence from other sources about the working ol' the scheme to show that all is far from well. It gives us no particular pleasure to say "we told you so" about the scheme. Fears that any scheme based exclusively on law centres would be crippled by financial restraints have proved only too accurate. The scheme, as we said in early 1982, is unbelievably expensive on a cost per case basis. It has been the archetypal Irish public service project. Firstly: ignore the recommendation of the committee which advises on the establishment of a scheme. Secondly: establish a board, apparently representative of all interests but heavily weighted with civil servants. Thirdly: set up an administration staffed largely with civil servants on secondment. Fourthly: buy or rent expensive premises for the central administration so that before a single act takes place, in this case a client walking in the door of a law centre, enormous administration costs have been ensured. The Legal Aid Board has established a network of offices, and incurs substantial travelling expenses in servicing clients who are far from the network. Finally, the Board has been hit by the public service embargo with no replacements being made where one of a two solicitor team resigns. The fact that the formal establishment of the Scheme on a statutory basis has not yet occurred may provide an opportunity to re-think the Scheme and reduce its operating costs. The Government should do away with the present scheme and implement the recommendation of the Pringle Committee. The private practitioner should be used. The Scheme's costs can be readily cut by using the services of solicitors whose offices are already established. The operating costs of those practices can be shared by the legal aid clients and the ordinary fee paying clients. The means test procedures should be revised and the contribu- tion arrangements simplified. The voluntary activities of FLAC should be encouraged and supported. Modest sums for organisations such as FLAC will yield far better returns than the expensive formal scheme. There is an opportunity here for the public sector financial commit- ment to be reduced while providing an improved service to the community. • 207

Comment

207

Combining Business with Pleasure

209

Practice Note

213

For Your Diary

213

Book Launch

215

Time Recording and Time Costing

217

Chargeable Hours

223

Crossword

224

Solicitors' Golfing Society

227

Book Review

229

Professional Information

230

Mary Buckley William Earlcy, Chairman John F. Buckley Gary Byrne Charles R. M. Meredith Michael V. O'Mahony Maxwell Sweeney

Executive Editor: Editorial Board:

Advertising: Printing:

Liam O hOisin, Telephone 305236 Turner's Printing Co. Ltd., Longford

The views expressed in this publication, save where other-wise indicated, are the views of the contributors and not necessarily the views of the Council of the Society. The appearance of an advertisement in this publication does not necessarily indicate approval by the Society for the product or service advertised. ABC Membership has been approved pending first audit for the period July to December 1984.

Published at Blackhall Place, Dublin 7.