THE LEGAL services ombudsman, due to be established by Government shortly, will not introduce independent regulation and competition into the industry, and will “copperfasten the current situation”, the chairman of the Competition Authority has said.
Speaking following the publication of the authority’s annual report, William Prasifka said an independent regulator was badly needed for the legal industry.
However, Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said yesterday the profession is having a very tough time at present and he is “not going to bring in legislation that makes the situation worse”.
Speaking to The Irish Timesyesterday evening, Mr Prasifka said the legal services ombudsman was not an ombudsman at all.
“An ombudsman is a person who has the power to give a complainant relief,” he said.
“The legal services ombudsman does not have the power to address a grievance by a complainant; the only thing it can do is refer the complaint back to the Law Society or the Bar Council.”
He said the ombudsman would not address self-regulation in the industry and was not truly independent.
“Staffing can only be decided after consultation with the Law Society and the Bar Council; imagine if the banks could decide on staffing levels in the Financial Regulator’s office,” he said.
“That is not independent regulation; it copperfastens the current situation.”
Mr Prasifka said the authority had been deeply critical of the way the legal profession has been regulated for some time.
“What we are looking for is independent regulation in the public interest,” he said.
Speaking on RTÉ radio's This Weekprogramme, Mr Ahern said the Department of Justice was "in the process of setting in train the process whereby somebody will be picked for that job". The legislation for the ombudsman had already been in train when he moved into the department, he said.
“Obviously we’ll have to let it take its course and see how it operates, and obviously if changes are needed to be made they will be made.”
The Minister acknowledged the need for competition in the legal profession, but said it was having a “very, very tough time” during what is “an extremely difficult scenario with the economy”.
“Obviously I am not going to bring in legislation that makes the situation worse,” he said.
Some 318 complaints were received by the Competition Authority in 2009, according to yesterday’s report.
Almost half were resolved at a preliminary stage and a further 75 were resolved following detailed evaluation. Over 80 cases are continuing and two full investigations were instigated.
The report said the vast majority of complaints did not reveal a breach of competition law or were resolved without the need for legal action.
Ten criminal convictions for competition offences were secured in 2009. They all related to price fixing and the Citroën Dealers Association.
Fines of between €2,000 and €80,000 were handed down by the courts on foot of the convictions along with suspended prison sentences of up to nine months.
The report also found that company mergers and acquisitions were down again this year. In 2009, the Competition Authority reviewed 27 mergers and acquisitions, down from 38 in 2008 and 72 in 2007.
