The Gazette 1991

GAZETTE

i SEPTEMBER 1991

Correspondence

reviewed at the end of a trial period. Yours faithfully, Catherine Treacy, Registrar, Land Registry, Chancery Street, Dublin 7. 18 July 1991 The Editor Gazette Incorporated Law Society of Ireland Blackhall Place Dublin 7. Dear Editor, In line with the new Government policy of 40% minimum repre- sentation of women on State boards, the National Women's Talent Bank is updating its register of women who are available to participate on these boards. We are actively recruiting new talent for our register. Any woman who is interested in putting her name forward for our register should contact the National Women's Talent Bank at, 64 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2. We thank you for your cooperation. Yours sincerely,

his clients....". The impression given is that whether or not a solicitor is aware that a client might have received a gift, it is his duty to notify every one of his clients of the position. This is placing a very onerous burden on the professional to, in effect, circularise every single one of his clients in order to protect himself against a claim for negligence. A solicitor would only be on notice of such matters as pass through his hands, and information which would be available from his files. It could happen that one solicitor in a firm could be dealing with a client who received a gift which would have been under the threshold for which no return was made, and that same client could be a client of another firm when he received another gift which might have put him above the threshold. Neither firm of solicitors could be aware of the other's activities in relation to that client unless the client disclosed same to them. The question arises as to what would be the duties of each of those solicitors to that client. A client may have been the recipient of gifts of chattels which would not be to the knowledge of his solicitor, and yet it would appear that there is an onus on the solicitor to advise the client in such a case. Surely the duty must be limited to such clients where the solicitor is aware, in his professional capacity, of gifts having been made to a client, and that the duty would only rest with such cases. Perhaps you would clarify the position in the next issue of the Gazette.

Editor Law Society Gazette, Law Society, Blackhall Place, Dublin 7.

15th July, 1991

RE: The introduction of tele- phone answering machines in the Land Registry Dear Sir, In view of the apparently successful introduction and operation of telephone answering machines in other offices offering a public service, I have decided to introduce them on a pilot basis in the Ground Rents Section and in the Dealings Sections for Counties Clare, Galway, Mayb, Roscommon, and Sligo. The Staff in these Dealing Sections have a heavy work-load as a result of the introduction of computerisation of their folios. As you will appreciate the necessity of dealing with a large number of unexpected telephone calls can be the ruination of a planned daily work schedule. By arranging the times at which we will deal with our incoming telephone calls the work load of the office will be more efficiently managed and the service provided over the telephone will be improved upon as we will have the subject matter of an enquiry to hand and researched when we return the call. The messages left on the machines will be monitored and dealt with towards the end of each morning and evening. It will still be possible where circumstances warrant it for anyone to ask at the switchboard for direct access to the staff to have a problem dealt w i th immediately. Hopefully such calls will be kept to a minimum. As an improvement in the efficiency of the Registry is to all our benefit I would ask for the co-operation of our clients with the pilot scheme. Its operation as it affects both our clients and the Registry will be monitored and

Denise Conn Chairwoman

National Women's Talent Bank c/o Council for Status of Women 64 Lower Mount Street Dublin 2

Yours faithfully, Quentin Crivon, Solicitor, 94 Lr. Baggot St., Dublin 2.

The Taxation Committee, Incorporated Law Society of Ireland, Blackhall Place, Dublin 7. RE: CAT Amnesty and Enforcement Dear Sir, With reference to the article in the April Gazette, it is stated " i t is the duty of every solicitor to bring this Tax Amnesty to the attention of

The article did not represent itself to be a dissertation on negligence but rather an appropriate time to inform solicitors of the new situation presented by the Amnesty and of the opportunities that it affords, and that the question of negligence is only something to be answered by the Courts.

Taxation Committee (Cont'd on p. 295) 293