The Gazette 1994

GAZETTE

such as accountants, regulate entry requirements.

Society as saying that while the increase in funding for legal aid was welcome the Society estimated that the annual cost of a comprehensive statutory civil legal aid scheme would be £8 million per year. A statement from the Law Society saying that greater concern was being shown for greyhound and horse racing then the rights of ordinary people to have equal access to the courts to vindicate their rights was published in the Cork Examiner on 14 December 1993 and in the Irish Independent on 22 December 1993. The Society said that £7.3 million had been allocated for the development of the horse racing and greyhound racing industries while only £5 million was allocated to the Legal Aid Board. The Irish Independent of 4 January 1994, reported a response to the Society's statement from a spokesman for Minister Mervyn Taylor who said the sum was the highest ever allocation to legal aid and would significantly cut waiting lists. A spokesman for the Law Society said any involvement by private practitioners would, at the very least, have to be at the same rate of remuneration payable under the

criminal legal aid scheme.

Probate Tax to Stay

Estimates Provide Increased Resources for Courts and Legal Aid Details of the Book of Estimates for 1994 were published in all the daily papers of 10 December, 1993. The Irish Independent reported that a major drive to speed up the administration of justice in the courts by introducing new procedures and appointing extra staff was to be made next year by the Department of Justice. The salaries budget for the courts would increase by 20% to £15.5 million. The Irish Times noted that the request by the Law Society and the Bar Council for a £5 million increase in expenditure on courthouse accommodation had been largely met in the 1994 estimates. The net total spending on courts showed an increase of 38% on expenditure in 1993. The papers also noted that the Government spending estimates provided for an increase of almost £2 million to the Legal Aid Board bringing its total provision to £5 million. The Irish Independent reported a spokesperson for the Law The Criminal Law Committee of the Law Society of Ireland and the Criminal Bar Association of Northern Ireland are pleased to announce the holding of their first joint seminar to take place on the weekend of 11, 12 and 13 February 1993, in the Ballymascanlon House Hotel, Dundalk, Co. Louth. The seminar aims to increase the pool of available legal and practical knowledge in the conduct of criminal cases, and will involve a high degree of participation by those attending. The seminar is open to all solicitors with an interest in criminal law. Conference Programme Friday Evening - Welcome reception and registration. Saturday Morning 10.00 - 12.00 - "The Client in Custody". Keynote speaker: Alistair Duff, Solicitor, Edinburgh.

The Farmers Journal of 18 December 1993, reported that the Minister for Finance, Bertie Ahem, had told the Dail that he had no plans to abolish probate tax in the 1994 Budget. The article reported that the Alliance Against Probate Tax intended to intensify the campaign to abolish the tax. The Evening Press of 17 December 1993, reported that the Labour Court had turned down a 3% PESP "local bargaining" claim by IDATU on behalf of clerical, cleaning and porter grades of staff employed by the Law Society. The Labour Court upheld the arguments of the Society that no exceptional circumstances existed to justify concession of the Union's claim and that the Society could not afford to bear the additional payroll costs. • room. The hotel also has a nine hole private golf course with a green fee of £6.00 per person. As the aim of the seminar is to achieve a high degree of involvement from all participating, the number of places is necessarily limited. To reserve your place please forward a deposit of £25.00 payable to the Law Society of Ireland, to: Labour Court Rules in favour of Law Society

Barbara Cahalane N o r t h / S o u t h S e m i n a r o n C r i m i n a l L a w

2.00 - 3.00 - "Computerised Litigation Support in the Criminal Practice". Speaker: Anne Dunne, Anne Dunne Systems Consultants, Dublin.

8.00 p.m. - Conference Banquet.

Sunday Morning 11.00 - 1.00 - "The Forensic Preparation of the Defence". Keynote speaker: Dr Noel Spence, Forensic Scientist, Cambridgeshire. The cost of the seminar will be £100.00 per person which will include: two nights bed and breakfast (sharing accommodation) lunch and dinner on Saturday, tea and coffee breaks and all conference documentation. Participants will have full access to the sports and leisure complex of the Ballymascanlon Hotel which has an indoor heated swimming pool, solarium, sauna, gymnasium, squash courts, tennis courts and snooker

Linda Kirwan, Law Society, Blackhall Place, Dublin, 7. or Ciaran Steele, Fearon & Steele, Solicitors, Cromac Street, Belfast.

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