Businesses who have disputes with other businesses involving less than €7,500 will be able to access a Bar Council arbitration scheme for a flat fee of €750 from today. The scheme was launched yesterday by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin.
It was drawn up following consultation with the Small Firms Association and ISME, according to the chairman of the Bar Council, Hugh Mohan SC. He said these bodies identified cost and time as the main problems facing firms in dealing with minor disputes.
The Bar Council examined methods of alternative dispute resolution and had trained between 300 and 400 young barristers in general arbitration, he said.
They could call on the assistance of senior barristers working as mentors and could act as arbitrators in minor disputes.
If a company sought the resolution of a dispute through this scheme, which was supported by the Chambers of Commerce, it would be guaranteed controlled costs and a decision within 28 days, he said. The arbitrator's decision would be final.
Mr Mohan added that the €7,500 limit was not set in stone, and could be increased when the scheme was bedded down.
The vice-chairman of the Bar Council, Turlough O'Donnell SC, said that normally an attempt to pursue a dispute involved a multiplicity of documents.
The council had reduced these to a single sheet of paper, where people could make their claims and the other side could reply. He added that the information and the documentation had been turned into plain English by Nala, the national literacy body.
Mr Martin said that Ireland now had a higher number of business start-ups than any EU state except Poland.
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