Speech of the Taoiseach, Law Society Annual Dinner

Issued by the Government Press Office

Check Against Delivery

President and Members of the Law Society,

Chief Justice and honourable members of the judiciary, Attorney General,

Distinguished Guests.

It’s a privilege to be here for your annual dinner. Thank you for inviting me.

I have always believed that you can tell a lot about a society by looking at its Professionals, its doctors, accountants, lawyers and judges. You can see instantly if they reflect the diversity of daily life, or if they represent a protected castle, something closed off and unattainable.

One of the strengths of our legal profession is its diversity, people from all backgrounds and all parts of the country. In 2015, we became the first country in the world to achieve gender parity among our legal professionals. Today’s solicitors are diverse, modern and embrace change. You reflect Ireland as it is and how it should be.

I know your President shares this vision. When he was elected last year he made diversity and inclusion the themes of his Presidency and he has followed through on his promises.

It is also right that we see greater diversity in our judiciary, and this also means more solicitors being appointed to the bench and we are increasingly seeing that, with some more appointed earlier this year. Particularly to the District Court but not only to the District Court.

It’s an approach to the law that is epitomised by the Chief Justice, who has been an eloquent champion of the Courts.

It also means new ways of doing things. New technologies are changing all professions and you have not been afraid to embrace them.

I congratulate the Law Society on the massive online courses you run, offered to people in Ireland and around the world, free of charge.

And, I see that this year Minister Madigan is contributing to the course about arts, entertainment and media law.

Digital technologies offer new opportunities to all of us, and so as a Government we have been determined to unlock this potential for all parts of our country. Bringing high speed broadband to every home, school, farm and business across the country, the vast majority through fibre, will be expensive, but it is worth doing.

We have a digital divide between urban and rural Ireland.

We can close it now or we never will.

We cannot stand still as a country, or we will fall backwards.

The same is true of the law.

We are currently in a period of transition and reform and the Law Society and the wider legal community has played its part in making these changes possible.

For example, this autumn will see the introduction of the new legal costs transparency regime, something you have championed. The new and independent Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Tribunal will also come into operation in its own right.

An area where you have helped effect real change is in the area of insurance. The availability and cost of insurance is something that affects many people in our country. For some it is a real source of concern. The Cost of Insurance Working Group chaired by Minister D’Arcy has been working to provide solutions and introduce greater transparency about how insurers settle claims.

As you know, this Group recommended the establishment of a Personal Injuries Commission so that awards in Ireland could be benchmarked against other jurisdictions.

I am grateful to this Society for your involvement in this benchmarking exercise under the chairmanship of former President of the High Court, Justice Nicholas Kearns.

The Commission discovered that there was a significant differential between award levels in this country and England and Wales, for example, by a factor of 4.4 times for soft tissue injuries. There really is no justification for such a wide differential and it has societal costs.

I believe the best way of dealing with these discrepancies is through the Judicial Council issuing Guidelines for personal injury awards, similar to the systems in Northern Ireland, England and Wales. And, allowing for due discretion and judgement, they should be followed.

If we can bring the levels of damages awarded in this country for soft tissue injuries more in line with those awarded in other jurisdictions, then there is likely to be a significant reduction in premiums. And we are seeking commitments from the insurance industry on this point.

We need your help too.

The next step is that the Judicial Council Bill must be enacted and this should happen later this year, alongside the Judicial Appointment Bill and legislation to increase the size of the Court of Appeal.

Insurers have a major role to play in these reforms and so too does the legal profession. Your continuing support for the implementation of the Commission’s recommendations sends a strong signal that change needs to happen and excuses will not be tolerated.

Dear Friends,

The Irish Constitution has served us well over the past eight decades. While it did not provide the individual liberties and freedoms that everyone desired, it gave us the freedom to achieve them.

Today the Constitution reflects how we have changed as a society and as a country, and constitutional referendums have played their part in helping us to tackle difficult and thorny issues.

In 1995 we voted by a very narrow margin to allow people to divorce and remarry. One vote in every ballot box going the other way would have changed the result and perhaps, stalled social progress for a decade.

Four years ago we became the first country in the world to legislate for marriage equality following a referendum that was passed decisively by the people.

We saw the same thing last year with the referendum on a woman’s right to choose. Issues that had once scarred Irish society, decided by the people after an open debate and vote, largely without acrimony.

In two weeks’ time we will be voting again in a referendum, this time to reduce the minimum living apart period for spouses seeking a divorce to two years. I know this is something that the Law Society, as a body, supports, recognising the need to cut down on the duplication of legal expenses and protracted proceedings. Even more importantly, we are recognising the need to reduce the emotional and financial distress caused when a marriage breaks down irretrievably.

In the past, the Constitution was used to provide moral certainty and cast a cold judgement on people’s lives. Today, it recognises the uncertainty that is in all our lives. The need for compassion instead of coldness, the importance of respecting personal freedom instead of limiting it.

So tonight I would like to offer a toast to the Law Society. To our solicitors who get up early in the morning, and have to be at their best so they can help people at their lowest ebb. Many of you are self-employed, many of you are effectively running your own small businesses, creating employment for others, securing justice for your clients. The Government recognises the work you are doing, we value it, and we are determined to do everything we can to help you.

Thank you.