The Gazette 1993

GAZETTE

NOVEMBER 1993

N E W S

"Paltry" Legal Aid Criticised

negotiations immediately with the Law Society so that we can both agree on the optimum scheme. We are well aware of the financial constraints under which Government operates but at the same time we believe that, with proper organisation, a comprehensive scheme can be introduced at reasonable cost," said Raymond Monahan. "The Minister should also take into consideration that at the moment the unmet legal needs of the community are being dealt with by the solicitors' profession on a pro bono or voluntary basis. It is a tradition of our profession that nobody seeking legal redress will be refused such because of their inability to pay and I would urge all of your qualifying today to continue with ! this tradition and to continue to assist those who do not have the means to help themselves and who are frequently unable, through no fault of their own, even to begin to address their legal problems. It is wrong however, that through the failure of the State to provide a proper legal aid service solicitors should be expected ad infinitum to take on cases without payment so that people can have their rights vindicated. If the concept of access to justice means what the Constitution of this country proclaims then this regrettable state of affairs must be ended and ended quickly. It is essential that the legal profession draws attention to these matters on behalf of the public because it seems to us that nobody else will." Solicitors are giving employment to thousands of people Raymond Monahan told the newly- qualified solicitors that the contribution solicitors make to the economy needed recognition. "At a time when the media seem frequently to focus on the very high earnings that some very few members of the profession can command for their highly skilled services, it is sometimes

forgotten that the vast majority of solicitors work hard, in the face of intense competition, to make ends meet and to give employment to j others. Maintaining this employment is increasingly difficult for many at this time of acute economic recession. Law firms in this country are creating worthwhile employment for thousands of people and this is something that I feel ought to be given much greater recognition. As lawyers, we would, of course, - in common with everybody else - like to see the economic environment more conducive than it is to the creation of employment. It is now high time that the Government began to dismantle the many economic ; barriers there are to the creation of additional employment. I am referring, primarily, of course, to the very hostile ; tax environment that we have in this country where income tax and pay related social insurance can now i consume up to 56% of an employee's wages - above very low thresholds - and where employers face what is, in reality, a crippling taxation burden on S employment. Í "I am also thinking, in this context, about other matters which make it difficult for lawyers to provide legal services at moderate cost. Value Added Tax, stamp duty and court fees all add substantially to the cost of j providing legal services but, of course, | clients frequently forget that these are S charges solicitors have to pay on their j behalf. In recent years, we have seen further impositions, such as residential property tax, and, in the present year, the new probate tax, which I have, ' with others, criticised. The effect of recent changes in relation to residential property tax is that solicitors will not be able to complete conveyances of houses without clearance certificates from the Revenue Commissioners and this will only add further burden to the complications of these transactions and cause additional delays." • j

Addressing a parchment ceremony on (Friday) 22 October at which 58 newly-qualified solicitors were admitted to the profession, the then President of the Society, Raymond Monahan, criticised the Government for a system of Civil Legal Aid, administered through Law Centres, which had now been proved to be completely inadequate having regard to the present demand for legal redress in our community. "Those in need of vital legal services and who cannot afford them must now wait for extraordinary lengths of time, in some cases between six and nine months, to have even their urgent legal problems addressed in the Law Centres. Many more who find that they are ineligible under the paltry limits for legal aid are being forced to endure injustice if they cannot afford the services of a lawyer. How can the Government possibly state that there is equal access to justice in this country? Surely it is now time to recognise the right of access to justice as a fundamental human right on a par with the right to education, the right to health services and so on?" he asked. "Today I want, once again, to call on our Government to recognise the urgent need to improve and develop our system of civil legal aid so that equality of access to justice can be properly recognised and become a reality. I know from discussions with him that the Minister for Equality and Law Reform, Mr. Mervyn Taylor TD, formerly a solicitor, very much wants to achieve this end and I want to make it quite clear that this Society and this profession will support the Minister in any effort he makes to introduce a comprehensive legal aid scheme. Unfortunately, the pilot scheme recently introduced by the Minister completely fails to recognise the value of the services provided by solicitors

in family law cases and I would therefore urge the Minister to commence discussions and

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