The Gazette 1993

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GAZETTE

OCTOBER 1993

Society Publicises Submissions

Law Society released details of its submission to the Government criticising the proposal by the Minister of State for Commerce & Technology, Seamus Brennan, TD, to place a limit on the amount that could be awarded for pain and suffering in personal injuries claims. (See also Viewpoint on page 289). The submission received extensive coverage in the national newspapers on the morning of Monday 27 September with headlines such as "Law Society Against Compensation Limits" ( Irish Times) "Lawyers Say Plan to Cut Claims Cash Unworkable" (Irish Independent). The Director General of the Law Society, Noel Ryan, was interviewed on the 1.00 pm, 6.00 pm and 9.00 pm RTE TV bulletins on that day. He reiterated the arguments in the submission that the Minister's proposal would be unjust, unworkable and could well be unconstitutional. The Director General of the Society and the Minister of State subsequently debated the issue on the Pat Kenny Show, RTE Radio 1, on 6 October, the Minister maintaining that the Irish public no longer wanted to pay itself so much in compensation, while Noel Ryan argued that the focus should be on reducing the number of claims which arise and questioned the validity of the Minister's assumption that reducing compensation for pain Earlier in the month the Society's recommendation to members of the profession not to participate in the pilot scheme of Civil Legal Aid put forward by the Minister for Equality & Law Reform, Mervyn Taylor, TD, because of the inadequacy of the fees being offered, was reported in the Irish Times, Irish Press, Irish Independent and Cork Examiner of 10 September, 1993. Most of the (Continued overleaf) and suffering would lead to a reduction in insurance costs. Civil Legal Aid fees rejected

editorial in the Cork Examiner said "the views of two such influential bodies must be taken on board by the Government and a national appraisal of the whole Courts system instigated as a matter of urgency." Writing in the Irish Times of 24 September, 1993, Adrian Hardiman, SC, praised the joint submission and said "with a little money and far more imagination than has ever previously been invested, a fully effective courts system could so easily be provided." Over the following week a number of members of the Council of the Law Society gave interviews on the submission to their local radio stations relating the In the Sunday Independent of 26 September, 1993, it was reported that the President of the High Court, Mr. Justice Liam Hamilton, was opposed to the idea of an executive agency to to manage the courts service and that a number of judges shared his view, because they believed such an agency would undermine their independence as guaranteed by the Constitution. The article also reported that the Government was on the point of setting up a Commission to examine the courts service which would have representatives from the practising professions, consumer groups, trade unions, employers as well as the Presidents of each of the Courts and the Attorney General. The Irish Independent of 4 October, 1993, reported that extra judges were to be appointed by the Government in an effort to clear the backlog of court cases but that the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, William O'Dea, was not in favour of the proposal of an executive agency. Instead, the Government would press ahead with a Commission. points in the submission to the problems in their own areas.

The Law Society was the instigator of two major news stories during the month of September, the first one at a press conference at which the Society and the Bar Council launched their joint submission to the Minister for Justice, Maire Geoghegan Quinn , on the future of the courts service in Ireland. The second was when the criticising the proposals by Seamus Brennan , TD, to place a limit on the amount that could be awarded for pain and suffering in personal injuries claims. Society released details of its submission to the Government The joint Law Society/Bar Council press conference to highlight recommendations on the future of the management and structure of the Courts service was widely reported in the national media. The President of the Law Society, Raymond Monahan, and the Chairman of the Bar Council, Frank Clarke, SC, were interviewed on RTE TV bulletins on the evening of 22 September. Raymond Monahan said that underfunding and poor management of the Courts over the years had meant that condition of the courts service now amounted to a national disgrace while Frank Clarke pointed out that the degree of delay was such that, of itself, it could lead to injustice. The following morning the Director General of the Law Society, Noel Ryan, was interviewed on Morning Ireland, RTE Radio 1, in which he outlined the proposals in the submission concerning placing the management of the courts service under the control of an executive agency headed by a director. The submission received extensive coverage in the The Irish Times, Irish Independent, Irish Press, Cork Examiner and Daily Star and Evening Press of 23 September. A supportive Executive Agency to manage the courts

Minister's proposal criticised

On Sunday 26 September last, the

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