The Gazette 1996

GAZETTE

JUNE 1996

Solicitors Benevolent Association

At the recent AGM of the Association, the Chairman, Tom Menton, made the point that many members of the profession are not aware that the Association is entirely separate from the Law Society. It is a thirty-two county organisation and our September meeting will be held in Belfast. N o doubt ma ny of you will not have j had time to study the accounts for 1995 wh i ch were recently circulated I to the profession. Had w e not been j fortunate e n o u gh to receive an exceptional legacy of £ 5 0 , 0 00 during the year from a very kind benefactor w e wo u ld have had a deficit of £ 2 4 , 0 0 0 for the year. It is highly likely that a large deficit can be anticipated for the current year. The total amount of grants paid out in 1995 to those in need of assistance was £ 1 8 5 , 3 62 as against £ 8 9 , 2 28 paid out in 1985. S e v e n t y - o ne persons were assisted in 1995 wh i le f i f t y - t wo persons were assisted in 1985. You may wo n d er why the number of persons assisted has not increased pro rata the amount of the grants over this ten year period. The reason is that there has been a very large increase in the number of y o un g er applicants in recent times. A typical beneficiary in 1985 wo u ld have b e en a w i d ow without dependents, whereas in 1995 a beneficiary is far more likely to be an applicant with a y o u ng family. Wh i le the details of the beneficiaries must remain confidential, s ome general information may be of interest | to the profession. Currently there are sixty-three beneficiaries in receipt of regular grants. One third of those are aged fifty years or younger. Th ey have a total of sixty dependent children b e t we en them.

the bare necessities to live. The vast majority of applicants wo u ld be in receipt of Social Assistance from the State. An y o ne applying for assistance from the As s o c i a t i on is asked to itemise his or her expenditure on a monthly basis and income, if any. The Directors review this statement and decide, on the merits of the case, whether the applicant should be paid s ome supplemental grant by the Association. The case is then kept under regular review. The ! application in the first place must be sponsored by a Solicitor and one other person. It has been the policy of the Directors ! in recent times to provide financial j assistance in suitable c a s es by way of loan repayable by the estate of ! the applicant or out of the proceeds i of sale of any assets wh i ch he | or she may have. Applicants are | asked to c omp l e te documentation in a c k n ow l e d g eme nt of such a loan. Not all beneficiaries are long-term. A number of applicants require assistance for a short period only. If, u n emp l o y ed he might be assisted by the As s o c i a t i on until such time as he found emp l o yme nt and was able to support himself and his family o n ce more. It should be stressed that the As s o c i a t i on d o es not "bail out" those I w h o are in debt. A s previously stated it can only provide subsistence payments to those in difficulties. Exceptions, of course, are made by for e x amp l e, a Solicitor with dependent children b e c ame

Be c a u se there are so many d ema nds on the funds the As s o c i a t i on is very grateful for donations from any source. For the first time in 1995 w e ventured into the sale of Christmas Cards, where a portion of the proceeds went to the Association. Admittedly this first venture had many teething problems and was not a great success. Howe v e r, we hope to rectify matters in 1996 and details will be given in future issues of the Gazette. Thanks to all of you wh o have supported the As s o c i a t i on in the past. We look forward to your continued support in the future. In addition, w e wo u ld call on those w h o have not subscribed to the As s o c i a t i on in the past to consider doing so in the future. Yo u can be assured that those wh o benefit from your generosity will be extremely grateful. AIB Law Chal lenge A D S BA sailing team took on the Law Society Yacht Club representing England and Wa l es at the Royal St. Ge o r ge Yacht Club, Dun Laoghaire on Saturday 11 Ma y. The event was generously sponsored by A IB Bank and c omp r i s ed a series of races in t wo S i gma 38s. The yachts were provided by Bruce Lyster, C ommo d o re of the Royal St Ge o r ge Yacht Club and Richard Hooper, C ommo d o re of Dub l in Bay Sailing Club. The f l a g s h ip was provided by Bill Riordan, ma n a g i ng partner of Wh i t n ey Mo o re & Keller and the o f f i c er of the day w a s Vincent Delaney. (see phote on p. 149). Geraldine Secretary Pearse,

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the Directors wh en warranted. For e x amp l e, until the recent abolition of third level fees, the

As s o c i a t i on has on o c c a s i on paid f e es for a child of a Solicitor wh o obtained a place in a third level institution and w h o wo u ld otherwise, due to financial hardship, have been unable to take up that place.

Ob v i o u s ly the As s o c i a t i on is only in a position to provide beneficiaries with

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