Headline professions glean little sympathy

Some of the least loved professions hit the headlines this week. First, a survey of accountants in Britain found 40 per cent of them were fed up with the long hours they work.

Most young accountants were worried that their hours affected their health, morale, productivity, personal relationships and social life - a view that will surprise those who understood accountants did not have a social life in the first place. But it is hard to see the profession winning much sympathy when their plight is placed alongside, say, junior doctors.

Elsewhere, the legal profession in Ireland got a wake-up call with the news the Government plans to set up a Personal Injuries Assessment Board to deal with compensation for personal injuries and take these cases out of the courts. This will be unwelcome news for lawyers, who have proved the biggest winners on the compo culture in Ireland.

Before everyone cheers too loudly, it is worth noting that the almost equally unpopular insurance industry will have a strong presence on the proposed board and a representative of IBEC may represent the social partners. Given the opposition of both groups to current levels of compensation, it may be the victim who loses out.

dcoyle@irish-times.ie