Tboi annual report 2016 2017

A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 6 / 2 0 1 7

MISSION STATEMENT

“ To provide leader ship and representation on behalf of member s of the independent Bar of Ireland, ensure the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct within the profession and to deliver valued and qualit y ser vices for the benefit of member s”

ORGANISATION

Council of The Bar of Ireland

Permanent Committees

Non-Permanent Committees

Co-optees

COMMITTEES

2016 – 2017

STANDING COMMITTEE

Paul McGarry SC (Chairman)

Damien Colgan SC

Mary Rose Gear ty SC

Patrick Leonard SC

Sara Moorhead SC

Seán Ó hUallacháin SC

Mícheál P O'Higgins SC

Seamus Woulfe SC

Claire Hogan BL

Grainne Larkin BL

Tony McGillicuddy BL

LIBRARY COMMITTEE

Seán Ó hUallacháin SC (Chairman)

Rober t Barron SC

Dermot Kelly SC

Paul McGarry SC

Sara Moorhead SC

Seamus Woulfe SC

Rachel Baldwin BL

Anne Bennett BL

Seamus Breen BL

Adrienne Cawley BL

Shane English BL

Fergal Foley

Claire Hogan BL

Darren Lehane BL

Tony McGillicuddy BL

Maura McNally BL

George Maguire BL

Venetia Taylor BL

FINANCE COMMITTEE

Sara Moorhead SC (Chairman)

Damien Colgan SC

Thomas Creed SC

Paul McGarry SC

Seán Ó hUallacháin SC

Seamus Woulfe SC

Seamus Breen BL

Darren Lehane BL

Venetia Taylor BL

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICES

COMMITTEE

Mícheál P. O'Higgins (Chairman)

Thomas Creed SC

Conor Dignam SC

Sean Guerin SC

Patrick McGrath SC

Sara Moorhead SC

Ronan Murphy SC

Shane Murphy SC

Micheál Ó Scanaill SC

Ronnie Robbins SC

Seamus Breen BL

Elizabeth Gormley BL

Grainne Larkin BL

Eoin Lawlor BL

Kathleen Leader BL

Darren Lehane BL

Maura McNally BL

Joseph O'Sullivan BL

Elaine Power BL

Venetia Taylor BL

CRIMINAL AND STATE BAR COMMITTEE

Damien Colgan SC (Chairman)

Sara Moorhead SC

Mícheál P O'Higgins SC

John Berry BL

Angela Collins BL

Clara Connolly BL

Dean Kelly BL

Tony McGillicuddy BL

Jane McGowan BL

Ellen O'Callaghan BL

Joseph O'Sullivan BL

Venetia Taylor BL

Beatrice Vance BL

ARBITRATION AND ADR COMMITTEE

Patrick Leonard SC (Chairman)

Paul McGarry SC

David Dodd BL

Arran Dowling Hussey BL

Marcus Keane BL

Darren Lehane BL

Padraig Lyons BL

Patrick Mair BL

Katie Mann BL

William Mar tin-Smith BL

Niall Ó hUiginn BL

Kate O'Donnell BL

Caitriona O'Reilly BL

Joseph O'Sullivan BL

Dylan Redmond BL

Louise Reilly BL

Anna Shanley BL

CIRCUITS LIAISON COMMITTEE

Elaine Power BL (Chairman)

Damien Colgan SC

Thomas Creed SC

Clíona M Boland BL

Karl Finnegan BL

Tom Fitzpatrick BL

Gerard Groarke BL

Gareth Hayden BL

David Kearney BL

Patricia McCallum BL

Vincent McKechnie BL

Heather Nicholas BL

Aisling Wall BL

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE

Conor Dignam SC (Chairman)

Michael Lynn SC

Sunniva McDonagh SC

Paul McGarry SC

Colm O'Dwyer SC

Mar tina Baxter BL

Patricia Brazil BL

Diane Duggan BL

Conan Fegan BL

David Fennelly BL

Alison Fynes BL

Bláithín Gallagher BL

Natalie McDonnell BL

Tony McGillicuddy BL

Niall Nolan BL

Colin Smith BL

Fintan Valentine BL

YOUNG BAR COMMITTEE

Claire Hogan BL (Chairman)

Paul McGarry SC

Seán Ó hUallacháin SC

Rachel Baldwin BL

Aoife Beirne BL

Eve Bolster BL

Hannah Cahill BL

Maeve Cox BL

Suzanne Dooner BL

Jennifer M. Good BL

Paul W.J. Hegar ty BL

Tony McGillicuddy BL

George Maguire BL

Ellen O’Brien BL

Ellen O’Callaghan BL

Séamus Ó Coigligh BL

Liam O’Connell BL

Eoin O’Donnell BL

Seán O'Quigley BL

Joseph O'Sullivan BL

Venetia Taylor BL

Dylan West BL

EDUCATION AND TRAINING COMMITTEE

Mary Rose Gear ty SC (Chairman)

Conor Dignam SC

Murray Johnson SC

Paul McGarry SC

Ronan Munro SC

Lisa Daly BL

Suzanne Dooner BL

Conan Fegan BL

Alison Fynes BL

Hugh Good BL

Claire Hogan BL

Tomás Keys BL

Tony McGillicuddy BL

Eoin O'Donnell BL

Colin Smith BL

LEGAL SERVICES REGULATORY AUTHORITY COMMITTEE

Tony McGillicuddy BL (Chairman)

Thomas Creed SC

Conor Dignam SC

Patrick Leonard SC

Paul McGarry SC

Sara Moorhead SC

Seamus Woulfe SC

Seamus Breen BL

Claire Hogan BL

Joseph O'Sullivan BL

Brendan Savage BL

PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

Grainne Larkin BL (Chairman)

Conor Dignam SC

Patrick Leonard SC

Paul McGarry SC

Seán Ó hUallacháin SC

David Allen BL

Rachel Baldwin BL

Emma Davey BL

Claire Hogan BL

Darren Lehane BL

Kevin Lenahan BL

Susan Lennox BL

Cathy MacDaid BL

Tony McGillicuddy BL

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

Moving in the right direction

Looking back on my first year as Chairman, I feel a great sense of pride and honour to have presided over another year of service improvements for members.

Improvement in member services and benefits

The vast majority of members, as demonstrated through the regular member surveys under taken, express high levels of satisfaction with the service improvements that have taken place across The Bar of Ireland over the last two years

A useful benchmark for measuring the level of improvements is a look back to the results of the general membership survey undertaken by our Director in April 2015, which identified a range of areas of dissatisfaction among members, including suppor t for young members, IT licence, access to Librar y databases, provision of CPD, guidance on the master/pupil relationship, suppor t for women at the Bar, professional fees and membership subscriptions, and value for money. Significant progress has been made to address each of these concerns, and while there is no per fect outcome to satisfy ever y individual member’s expectation, there is a consensus that enormous strides in the right direction have been made

The year of the LSRA

The legal landscape in Ireland continues to shift. In the past year, the Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) has begun operation Par ts 1 and 2 of the Act came into operation last October An interim CEO was appointed and the previous Minister for Justice stated that the Act

would be fully in force during 2017. Given the wide range of systems and processes that have to be implemented by the LSRA for each of the provisions of the Act to be implemented, it is unlikely in my view that the Act will be fully operational during 2017

The Bar of Ireland always said that there were elements of the legislation that were welcome. The new costs regime is long overdue, and we regret any fur ther delays in getting that up and running. Similarly, the provisions on regulation and discipline contain welcome elements

On the other hand, there is huge uncer tainty about the cost of all of this The provisions of the Act relating to business structures, multidisciplinary practices, par tnerships and the like always seemed to us to make no sense in a market this size.

We prepared submissions as par t of the consultation process on these and other issues, and it seems from the initial LSRA repor ts that our arguments are getting some traction

Brexit oppor tunities

In recent months, the Council has been engaged with Government agencies and law firms about the potential oppor tunities for legal services in the wake of Brexit We are glad to see that some of the ideas put forward will feature in attempts to attract global businesses to locate here. We recently hosted a major conference of the New York Bar, whose delegates were full of praise for our legal system and judiciary.

Suppor ting the judiciary

T

underfunded. The fact that we have the lowest number of judges per capita in the OECD, and the fact that those judges have not been adequately resourced, whether through the provision of researchers, registrars or suppor t staff, remains problematic

W

that it is better to spend money on a system for the appointment of people to an elaborate, expensive quango, simply to decide which j

more resources to the maintenance of high standards in the judiciary

Despite all this, our judges continue to be held in ver y high regard

This is because their independence is unimpeachable. They in turn d e p e n d o n t h e

which judges and law yers interact is an essential par t of our system

Upholding professional standards

Over the last year, and as set out later in this repor t, the work of the Professional Practices Committee and the advisory service it provides for members has continued to grow. There is an obligation on The B a r o f I re l a n d to d e m o n s t ra te l

standards in our professional obligations

None is more impor tant than the overriding obligation to the cour t, w h i c h s u p e r s e d e s a

ethereal or hypothetical concept: it exists in the training provided to our students and pupils; it exists in the advices given by the Council to individual members about professional ethics and practice; and, it exists ever y day when we appear before the cour ts

Legal proceedings involving the Council

I am pleased to repor t that two sets of proceedings against the Council concluded during the past year In one, a former High Cour t judge brought a challenge to the refusal of the Minister for Justice to include his name on the criminal legal aid panel Cer tain reliefs were claimed against the Council. Although the application against the Minister succeeded, the High Cour t ruled that no relief should be granted against the Council The Minister’s appeal also failed The Council was awarded its costs

A member had also brought plenary actions against the Council and the Conduct Tribunal. Although the claims were wide ranging, an application was made by the Council to have the proceedings struck out on the grounds that they were vexatious or bound to fail In April, Gilligan J delivered a written judgment in which he determined that all of the plaintiff ’s claims were unstateable Following discussions with the Council’s insurers, no application for costs was made and the proceedings were struck out by agreement.

A former member has also instituted a number of claims against The Bar, the BPCT, the BPCAB, and a number of judges From the limited information contained in the summonses, these claims also appear to be unstateable.

One effect of these cases is to have changed the terms upon which the Council has been able to secure insurance cover against future claims. Premiums will increase and cover is no longer available in respect of cer tain types of claims It is inevitable that this will have the effect of increasing member subscriptions

Well-being at the Bar Practice at the Bar is often difficult, and for some it brings unique

For too long we have neglected issues relating to the health of our We have sadly lost some friends and colleagues because of this years. This year we started work on a programme to help members be encountering difficulties at work, and we hope to provide sup assistance to those people in the same manner as other profession both here and abroad

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of my colleagues on th and all its committees for their hard work over the past year. I wa special tribute to our outgoing Treasurer, Sara Moorhead SC, who st from the Council this year Her decision to step down represents a to the Council and she has done an outstanding job in overseeing th management of the organisation over the last four years We indebted to her.

Seamus Woulfe SC vacated the position of Vice-Chairman appointment as Attorney General and we congratulate him and wis very best in his new role

Finally, I also want to thank our Director and her team for al professional support. The commitment and loyalty of our staff in se profession can only be properly realised when one has the privilege o closely with the administration. It is only then that members c appreciate that our staff go the extra mile every day on our behalv thank them on behalf of the membership

Paul McGarry SC Chairman

DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Strategic Plan is on course

In the 2015/2016 Annual Repor t , I noted that the adoption and implementation of our three-year Strategic Plan by the C o u n c i l o f T h e B a r o f I re l a n d h a d s e t a p l

n

i n g change and development within the organisation. During the second year of its implementation, the advantage of having a s t ra te g i c p l a

i m p ro v e m e n t s a c ro s s t h e o rg a n i s a t i o n fo r t h e b e n e f i t o f members, and these are summarised in this Annual Repor t .

Over view of membership

A s a t J u

were 90 new entrants in October 2016, and in the year to date, 135 lef t membership; however, 15 of those leaving were in the external membership categor y, which has now been abolished The number of members leaving is broadly in line with the previous five-year trend

The value of membership

P ro v i d i n g v a l u e fo r m o n e y a n d i m p ro v i n g s e r v i ce s fo r m e

s a key principle that underpins the decision making of the Council One o f t h e co n ce r n s h i g h l i g h te d b y m e m b e r s i n t h e 2 0 1 5 m e m

s u r v e y

represent value for money. In Januar y 2017, following publication of

t h e D i re

paper entitled ‘The Value of Membership’, which sought to assess and compare the cost of the basic minimum requirements to practise as a b a r r i s te r o u t s i d e o f t h e co l l e c t i v e s t r u c t u re , t h e L a w L i b ra r y, v e r s u s

membership, with savings ranging from ¤10,961 per annum for a firstyear junior counsel to ¤4,476 per annum for a senior counsel

While the economies of scale achieved through the collective buying p o w e

benefits of membership, which cannot be quantified in financial terms, is the culture of collegiality and co-operation among the independent re fe r

highest ethical standards, and encouragement of continuous sharing and challenging of ideas and approaches at all levels of practice.

Key investment in ser vice development

Over the course of the last year, the Council has invested in several key areas to improve ser vices and benefits for members, including the development of a new dedicated continuing professional development (CPD) facility, The Gaffney Room, which encompasses state-of-thear t technology, enabling us to provide CPD to members all over the countr y through a new webcasting facility

predominantly practise on Circuit as it means that they can access CPD a t a

been webcast have attracted an average of 282 views.

I

improvements in Wi-Fi across our sites, and increasing the reliability and functionality of our printing facilities A key challenge is to ensure

that we can put in place a solution for members to comply with the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by May 2018, and

C

management and communications system through Office 365 While

re

to

subscriptions in 2017/2018. This is a welcome development as it had been a source of dissatisfaction among many members

The deal negotiated with Westlaw IE to enable universal access for all members to librar y databases, regardless of location, has now been

ser vices cited by members as crucial to their practice. An outstanding a

highlighted through the recent survey of Circuit members Discussions with Thomson Reuters have commenced and it is hoped that we can reach a solution in the coming months.

2017 has given rise to a list of actions to improve services and facilities for members As the Bar Rooms are not owned or staffed by The Bar

THE BAR OF IRELAND MEMBERSHIP STATISTICS 2016-2017

listings on Circuit was also received and will be channelled through to the relevant authorities to address

LSRA establishment

The advent of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) has been greatly anticipated since 2011. The Authority was finally established in October 2016 While it will take some time before the Authority is fully resourced; nonetheless, three public consultations have been undertaken by the Authority since January 2017, including a consultation on legal partnerships (S.118), a consultation on multi-disciplinary practices (S.119), a consultation on the restrictions on a barrister holding client monies, and the retention or removal of restrictions on a barrister receiving instructions in a contentious matter directly from a person who is not a solicitor (S 120) The Bar of Ireland has made detailed submissions on behalf of the independent referral bar and will continue to engage with the Authority on these matters and many others arising from the full implementation of the Act.

The lifeblood of The Bar of Ireland are the volunteer members who contribute endless hours of their time and expertise for the benefit of the profession I am indebted to each and every member of Council, the committees, subcommittees and working groups for their support, guidance and assistance. It would simply not be possible for The Bar of Ireland to deliver on its objectives without their expert knowledge and commitment

I also wish to take this opportunity to thank all my colleagues on staff who continue to demonstrate enthusiasm and dedication to The Bar of Ireland

I look forward to working with the new Council and on your behalf over the year ahead.

Ciara Murphy Director

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1

9 5 3

FOLLOWERS ON TWITTER

1 7 3 , 2 8 5 DIGITAL LIBRARY ACCESS

BARRISTER’S DESKTOP VISITS

Library and Information Services

DIGITAL COLLECTION VISITS

3,112

To provide a library and information service to facilitate total, full-spectrum provision of relevant legal information and knowledge for members of the Law Librar y in the most readily accessible and user-friendly manner to enable them to deliver their professional services and expertise to clients.

We have completed year two of our three-year strategic plan for Library Ser vices The plan has guided us to suppor t the implementation of continuous change and the delivery of a range of improved services to members in both the physical and digital environment Four key strands – service delivery, collections, staff suppor t, and the environment –were identified as priorities for this year.

Info-Point

Info-Point is a key development and a new depar ture in how the librar y delivers its information service Building on Barrister’s Desktop, we wanted to ensure that content was relevant and supportive to members in their work Keeping up to date is a constant challenge and is time consuming for practitioners

Our purpose was to gather together key information resources by practice area. A prototype was built that incorporated seven practice areas. It provided quick online access to new legislation, case law, journal ar ticles, relevant documents and textbooks in specialist practice areas, including criminal law, company law, tor t and others

Info-Point was launched in December 2016 during Library Ireland Week. Following fur ther feedback from members, the Legal Update from The Bar

Review and a complete set of practice directions from the Cour ts Service was added in March 2017 We also added the relevant date and amending information for each practice direction This library initiative will continue to develop and there are plans to add core material in each subject heading and to fur ther expand the range of practice areas.

Dlí Nua – an e-zine of legal updates to enhance Info-Point

Our first issue of Dlí Nua was launched in late June 2017 This, our pilot issue, sought members' feedback to ensure that we are delivering the right co n te n

contains legal updates on case law, legislation, books, ar ticles and other relevant material appearing on Info-Point in the previous two weeks

Video tutorials

To enhance our information skills training offering, a set of video tutorials was developed and added to Barrister’s Desktop There are currently five videos online, covering such topics as 'Finding caselaw on Justis' and 'EBooks on Bloomsbur y Professional' The videos are designed to assist members to refine their research skills, get better results, and save time in the process. We will continually build on and improve this collection of online tutorials based on our knowledge and members' feedback.

Suggest a Book initiative

A major new initiative during the year was the introduction of patron-driven acquisitions. This library best practice helps to keep the collection optimally relevant and is a continuous source of direct member feedback for the

collections team Launched on Barrister’s Desktop in May, it received 15 suggestions from members in the first month of operation alone It complements our policy on collection development, and involves members in our purchasing procedures.

Westlaw renegotiations

With universal access to Westlaw IE secured in 2015, discussions opened with Thomson Reuters to continue this arrangement on sustainable terms

After three months of difficult negotiations, a deal was reached to secure the current arrangement as a minimum until October 2020. Discussions are also ongoing to expand our subscription to include universal access to ebooks This is proving to be even more protracted Given our members' strong feedback on this subject, negotiations are continuing in order to achieve a mutually-acceptable outcome.

Increased hours in the CCJ

Librar y desk opening hours in the Criminal Cour ts of Justice (CCJ) were increased from the star t of the Michaelmas Term, October 2016 The desk is now open from 9 00am to 5 30pm, Monday to Friday, during term time

Providing a face-to-face and knowledgeable information service remains the key focus of our offer to members.

Library and Member Services Co-ordinator role in the CCJ

This ser vice has gone from strength to strength As the designated and primar y point of contact in The Bar of Ireland premises in the CCJ, the

team proactively engages with members to ensure that their needs are met and that the full suite of membership ser vices is delivered Member feedback tells us that an atmosphere of efficiency, problem solving and co

events in the CCJ, allocation of lockers and other administrative items, as well as communicating with other stakeholders based in the CCJ

RFID in the Law Librar y

A planned project over the summer vacation is the implementation of RFID (radio-frequency identification) to manage and secure library stock.

manufacturer of the tags has ceased production Additionally, our selfissue machines are old, prone to failure and awkward to use RFID offers a number of improvements over barcodes and magnetic strips. Self-issue is reliable and easy to use; it allows for rapid stock checking and inventory m

librar y unauthorised The new system will be in place for the new legal year star ting in October 2017

Digitisation of The Bar of Ireland archives

P re p a ra to r y w o r k to o k p

archive of historical material relating to The Bar of Ireland The first set of material to be digitised will be the Minutes of the Bar Council, beginning in 1816 Initial technical and financial proposals have been put together, with the expectation that the project will be implemented in the next legal year.

Justis Irish Case Law

In June 2016, the Librar y struck a deal with Justis Publishing to create a new and comprehensive set of Irish law repor ts, based on the Librar y ’s JILL digital archive: judgments of the superior cour ts from 1931 to the p re s e

indexed and summarised by Justis’s editorial team before being enhanced

addition, the summar y data generated by Justis is used for the popular Legal Update section in The Bar Review Content quality is kept under constant review by librar y staff

Remodelled LRC

This significant project was completed over Hilar y Term, with the wiring of the 12 new workstations and the addition of new sof t seating for more casual reading and reference The new arrangement doubles the capacity of this area at the rear of the LRC in the Distiller y Building and it has already proved a popular place in which to work.

STRATEGIC

OBJECTIVE 2

Member Engagement and Benefits

SURVEY OF MEMBERS ON CIRCUIT

SURVEY

1,135

5 3 6 R E C E I V E D M E M B E R S R E S

4 7 % RESPONSE

155,000 IMPRESSIONS

DATABASE WEBPAGE VISITS

12,000

To ensure that members can work efficiently and effectively, and derive clear benefit from our investment in infrastructure, facilities and services.

Focus on well-being

A Wellness Committee, chaired by the Vice-Chairman Seamus Woulfe SC , w a s e s t a

t

projects.

Some of the key initiatives progressed by the Wellness Committee over the last year include:

n a p ro g ra

some CPD events;

n a new Parental Hub on the members’ section of the website; and, n the launch of a new Consult a Colleague helpline (imminent).

Member engagement

In order to enhance member engagement, this year the Member Services

te a m co m m e n ce d a

Initially, the team focused on younger members of the Bar. To date first, fo u r t h a n

comments and concerns Members contacted were ver y appreciative of this engagement and have been helpful in providing open and honest

benefits of membership of the Law Librar y.

Seating/lockers

In October 2016, a new seating area was launched in the Church Street Building as a direct response to member requests for more seating. The Member Ser vices team increased the frequency of seating runs during this legal year, and improved the process by moving it online. A second seating area in the Church Street Building will be developed in August 2017

In April this year, arising from the need to provide members with muchn e e d

unassigned seating area in the Distiller y Building. These larger lockers p

storage, specifically for those members in the early years of practice who cannot avail of a dedicated seat

External membership

The external membership categor y was abolished in October 2016 It is encouraging to note that of the 27 external members that were affected b y t h i s d e c i

to a

Librar y, paying full subscription rates.

New accounts system

I n O c to b e r 2 0 1 6 , t h e n e w a cco u n t s s y s te m w e n t l i v e T h i s e n h a n ce d

s y s te m e n a b l e s p a p e r l e s s t ra n s a c t i o n s w

receipts are now emailed directly to members.

T h e n e x t p h a s e w i l l s e e t h e r o l l - o u t o f t h e o n l i n e p a y m e n t p o r t a l ,

e n a b l i n g m e m b e r s to m a ke o n

a c c o u

t

y w e b s i te

The Bar of Ireland critical illness and death benefit

Always seen as a crucial member benefit, this scheme has paid out over ¤ 6 m i n c l a i m s s i n ce i t w a s e s t a b l i s

especially difficult year for many of our current and former colleagues

However, the existence of this scheme has proven an impor tant source

o f s u p p o r t to t h o s e a f fe c te d ,

( ¤ 4 5 0 , 0 0 0 d e a t h b e

2016/17, and a fur ther two death claims and one illness claim pending, m e a n i n g t h a t c l a i m

premium for 2016/17

Young Bar Committee

T h e Yo u n g B a r C o m m i t te e o f T

Committee of the Council With 661 (or 32%) of members in their first to seventh year in practice, the Young Bar Committee aims to provide a platform for these junior members. All junior members are encouraged

to raise any issues or initiatives they have with their representatives, who w i l l t h e n ra i s e t h e s e m a t te r s a t C o m m i t te e m e e t

representatives for the Young Bar Committee are elected from each of years one to seven. In 2016/17 the Young Bar Committee has continued its concentration on policy matters, continuing to facilitate CPD events s p e c i f i c

events

n A proposal for a more transparent guidance process for pupils in the selection of masters has been approved and will be in situ for entrants

i n 2 0 1 8 / 1 9 A b o o k l e t o n p u p

to entrants in October 2016 for the first time and work is under way to provide a similar guidance booklet to masters

n Provision of guidance for members in relation to the Criminal Justice

Le

young Bar members

n The ‘Young Bar Hub’ was recently launched on the members’ section of the website and is populated with practical and useful guidance for members on practice at the Bar. A working group was established to i n v i te

information To date the Young Bar Hub has received over 3,000 visits

n T h e re ce n t l y e s t a b l i s h e d C o u n s

access to a database of approximately 200 exper t barristers skilled in discovery and title review. To date the Counsel Discovery Database has

had almost 155,000 impressions, almost 3,500 clicks and the webpage has been visited almost 12,000 times

n Also recently launched by the Young Bar Committee was the Research Counsel Database. Approximately 150 barristers have indicated their areas of exper tise, making it easier for senior practitioners and others in need of paid research assistance to avail of same, through this new searchable facility, which is located on the website

n In terms of CPD events, two ver y successful events were held in the

to replicate the success of the ‘Summer Festival’ 2016 in July 2017 also.

Circuits Liaison Committee

T

challenges they face and identify how The Bar of Ireland could improve m e m b e r s e r v i ce s O v e r s e e n b y E l a i n e Po w e r B L , C h a i r o f t h e C

rc u i t s Liaison Committee, and suppor ted by each of the Circuit Liaison Officers, there was a fantastic response to the sur vey – a response rate of 47% was achieved. Members were asked for feedback in relation to Bar Rooms on Circuit, their views on Cour t sittings and listings on Circuit, and the provision of CPD on Circuit Following the results of the sur vey, a series of meetings were held with the members on each Circuit to provide the detailed feedback relevant to their Circuit, and to set out the steps that will now be taken to improve ser vices.

Value of membership

Following feedback from the member sur vey under taken by the Director i n A p r i l 2 0 1 5 , w h i c h h

initiatives were under taken:

Benefits, a copy of which has been provided to each member of the Law Librar y.

2. A benchmarking exercise to assess and compare the cost of the basic m i n i m u m re q u i re m

subscriptions

One of the primar y aims of the collective structure is to ensure value for m o n e y fo r o u r m e m b

Librar y make savings on their overheads by being par t of the collective structure, with savings ranging from ¤10,961 per annum for a first-year junior counsel to ¤4,476 per annum for a senior counsel. This information w a s m a d

updated to ensure that membership of the Law Librar y remains value for money

STRATEGIC

OBJECTIVE 3

Promotion, Policy and Public Affairs

NEWS AND EVENTS

10,620 VIEWS

HOME PAGE VIEWS

809,165

SEARCH FUNCTION

706,133

MEMBERS’ AREA 7 0 , 4 3 4

Webpage Visits: 9,797

Clicks: 954

Impressions: 37,000

Followers: 1,894

Tweets: 220

Impressions: 768k

New followers per day: 3

To proactively represent and promote members of The Bar of Ireland to a wide stakeholder network, including the general public , Government , business community, voluntar y sector and media, as independent and professional advocates ensuring access to justice and upholding the rule of law, and to ensure the independent Bar’s reputation as an exper t voice on legal matters through the production of policy papers and events in a range of relevant topics.

Policy, research and stakeholder engagement

The Bar of Ireland has made an active contribution to public debate over the last year and we have submitted our views on a range of legal, policy and public interest issues through consultations, Oireachtas committees, stakeholder engagement and media relations. Such fora present valuable opportunities for The Bar of Ireland to reinforce its reputation as an expert and authoritative voice on all legal matters Through the work of a number of committees and working groups, nine submissions and five position papers have been produced:

September 2016 Submission to the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach on the rising costs of motor insurance.

October 2016 Submission by Council of The Bar of Ireland to the Law Reform Commission on the Issues Paper on Contempt of Cour t and Other Offences and Tor ts involving the Administration of Justice.

December 2016 Submission by Council of The Bar of Ireland to the Depar tment of Justice and Equality for the Review of the Defamation Act, 2009. Submission to the Depar tment of Justice and Equality in relation to the Criminal Justice Legal Aid Scheme.

January 2017 Submission by Council of The Bar of Ireland to the Joint Committee on Justice and Equality on the Scheme of Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2016.

The Bar of Ireland Oireachtas Day Position Papers 2017:

• Motor insurance costs

• How legal fees work

• New costs regime and the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicator

• Cost-effectiveness of the Irish legal system

• Pro bono at the Bar

March 2017 Submission by Council of The Bar of Ireland to the Legal Services Regulatory Authority – Legal Par tnerships

May 2017 Submission by Council of The Bar of Ireland to the Seanad Special Select Committee on the UK’s Withdrawal from the European Union.

June 2017 Submission by Council of The Bar of Ireland to the Legal Services Regulatory Authority on Cer tain Issues Relating to Barristers Submission by Council of The Bar of Ireland to the Legal Services Regulatory Authority on Multi-disciplinary Practice

These efforts garnered significant media attention and on foot of 19 press releases/OpEds, 87 pieces of proactive coverage were achieved across all media sources:

n Press – 32 features

n Television – 1 feature

n Radio – 11 features (9 interviews, 2 mentions)

n Online – 27 features

n Trade – 16 features

Total audience reach is estimated to be 4,570,781.

Oireachtas and Seanad committee appearances

Representatives of the Council of The Bar of Ireland were invited to appear before the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach on September 13, 2016, to submit its views on the rising costs of motor insurance.

A follow-up meeting was conducted with Eoghan Murphy TD, then Minister of State for Financial Services, E-government and Public Procurement and Chair of the Cost of Insurance Working Group in relation to motor insurance costs on October 27, 2016 In May 2017, Paul McGarry SC addressed the Seanad Special Select Committee on the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, outlining potential implications for civil justice issues from hard and soft Brexit scenarios, and also highlighting the opportunities for Ireland in the area of legal services

Marguerite Bolger SC and Cathy Maguire BL, Chair of the Employment Bar Association, appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation on the Banded Hours Contract Bill.

Oireachtas Day

The Bar of Ireland held an information day for TDs and Senators in Leinster House on January 25, 2017 Information packs were distributed outlining The Bar of Ireland’s position on a number of key policy issues, including motor insurance premiums and judicial appointments.

The pack also contained useful information on pro bono at the Bar, how legal fees work, the cost-effectiveness of the Irish legal system, and the new costs regime and the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicator Representatives of The Bar of Ireland engaged with 66 TDs and Senators overall from a cross-section of constituencies and political parties.

Criminal and State Bar Committee

In addition to the submissions outlined above, the Criminal and State Bar Committee has proactively engaged with the DPP and Department of Justice over the last year, including making two detailed submissions on the professional fees paid and other operational issues relating to the criminal legal aid scheme. To date, important inroads have been made with the introduction of payments in respect of submissions to the Court of Appeal, and bail fees on foot of these submissions

While the wider issue of pay in the public sector is having a significant impact in progressing the overall restoration of fee cuts, the Committee has focused on restoration of the 10% pay cut uniquely applied to the Bar, and it is hoped to progress this issue in the coming months with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform The Committee also engaged with other stakeholders including the AG/CSSO and the Irish Prison Service, and work has commenced on a submission to the Legal Aid Board regarding the civil legal aid scheme.

Women at the Bar Working Group

The Women at the Bar Working Group, established in December 2015, continues to support and promote female practitioners through various initiatives, policy proposals and events. Notable events this year included the second Annual International Women’s Day Dinner in March 2017 and the inter-professional seminar on ‘Definitions of Success’, which was organised in conjunction with the Irish Medical Organisation, in June 2017 A number of new initiatives and policy developments have been introduced, which include: gender balance in the delivery of CPD seminars; amendment of the Code of Conduct to include a provision that explicitly states that barristers must not engage in conduct that may constitute victimisation or harassment or sexual harassment of another barrister; and, the launch of a Parental Support Hub on the Law Library website Work is also underway to consider development of an equitable briefing policy, similar to the policies introduced by The Law Council of Australia and the New Zealand Bar Association, which aim to promote and increase briefing of female counsel.

State Tenders Working Group

A working group was established to examine the issues arising from recent State tenders and the exclusion of barristers from tendering for this work The Office of Government Procurement (OGP) is intent on extending the procurement of services generally. State procurement of legal services is likely to increase and the exclusion of barristers from the tendering process presents a real concern for members, particularly younger members, of the Law Library In light of these challenges, the Working Group is tasked with examining current procurement practices and submitting a range of recommendations to Council of The Bar of

Ireland, which would contribute to a fairer, more open and transparent procurement process, and a market that is more accessible to a wider pool of practitioners

Specialist Bar Associations

The Bar of Ireland continues to develop closer liaison with a number of Specialist Bar Associations (Construction Bar Association (CBA), Employment Bar Association (EBA), Professional, Regulatory and Disciplinary Bar Association (PRDBA), Family Lawyers Association, and the Irish Criminal Bar Association (ICBA)), providing support in three main areas: secretariat support; event management; and, policy development. The following conferences were supported through events administration, marketing and promotion:

n EBA Employment Law Conference (October 21, 2016);

n PRDBA Social Workers Conference (November 12, 2016);

n CBA Annual Construction Law Conference (April 28, 2017);

n PRDBA Annual Conference – The Regulation of Teachers (June 23, 2017); and,

n Family Lawyers Association – Annual Conference and AGM (June 24, 2017)

Support was also provided to associations in their engagement with State bodies and other key stakeholders.

The Bar of Ireland events

The following pages show some of the highlights of key events hosted by The Bar of Ireland during the year.

OCTOBER 2016

Human Rights Award – The Irish Naval Service

The Bar of Ireland presents its inaugural Human Rights Award to the Irish Naval Service in appreciation of its exceptional contribution to human rights in saving thousands of lives in the Mediterranean Sea during the current migration crisis

Chairman, the Council of The Bar of Ireland, Paul McGarry SC, presented The Bar of Ireland Human Rights Award to members of the Irish Naval Service

NOTABLE EVENTS

At the Law Library World Mental Health Day event were (from left): Chairman, Council of The Bar of Ireland, Paul McGarry SC; LawCare Coordinator for Ireland, Mary Jackson; and, Vice-Chairman, Council of The Bar of Ireland, Seamus Woulfe SC

At the PRDBA Conference on 'Regulation of Social Work and Social Care' were (from left): Ms Justice Bronagh O’Hanlon; and, Teresa Blake SC

Bar of Ireland well-being initiative launched NOVEMBER 2016

The Professional Regulatory and Disciplinary Bar Association (PRDBA) holds its Conference, 'Regulation of Social Work and Social Care', at King’s Inns

The Bar of Ireland published a suite of documents on legal issues for its

DECEMBER 2016

EU Bar Association launched

JANUARY 2017

The Bar of Ireland Oireachtas Day Position Papers 2017 launched

NOTABLE EVENTS

FEBRUARY 2017

Innocence Scholarships launched

– US Attorney Dean Strang from the Netflix documentary Making a Murderer launches The Bar of Ireland’s 2017 Innocence Scholarships at the Law Library

Transition Year Programme 2017

– Look into Law – takes place

MARCH 2017

Four Jurisdictions Conference takes place

NOTABLE EVENTS

Members par ticipating in the Calcutta Run

At the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO)/The Bar of Ireland Joint Conference were (from left): IMO President Dr Ann Hogan; keynote speaker Miriam O’Callaghan, RTÉ; and, Grainne Larkin BL, Chair of The Bar of Ireland Women’s Working Group

IMO/The Bar of Ireland Joint Conference takes place at King's Inns

Chairman, Council of The Bar of Ireland, Paul McGarry SC, addresses attendees at the Chairman’s Dinner

30 ADVOCACY TRAINERS 28 ADVOCACY VOLUNTEERS 270 SCHO0LS APPLIED

2 8 D E I S PARTICIPANTS

100 PLACES

1,700 ATTENDEES

37 CPD EVENTS

282 VIEWS PER WEBCAST

3,949 WEBCAST AUDIENCE

53 ADVOCACY PARTICIPANTS

To ensure that members are aware of the importance, objective and requirements for obtaining continuing professional development (CPD) throughout their career; to provide access for members to a wide range of informative training and education events and resources; and, to promote the profession to those who are considering embarking on a career as a practising barrister.

Look into Law

The 2017 Transition Year Programme was rebranded as Look into Law with its own logo. Michaelmas 2016 saw a significant increase in marketing activity to further promote the Programme and increase awareness of it. This was accomplished in a number of ways:

n presence at the TY Expo over two days in September 2016 in Punchestown, Co Kildare, where over 7,000 students attended from 198 schools – over 700 of our new TY postcards were distributed to students, teachers and TY coordinators;

n advert and editorial coverage in BellTime magazine, which is distributed free to all schools in Ireland;

n profile and editorial coverage in the CareersPortal website and newsletter; and,

n a targeted social media campaign:

– Google AdWords: 954 clicks and over 37,000 views;

– Twitter: 105,531 impressions and 366 clicks; and,

– www lawlibrary ie: 9,797 webpage hits

This increased activity significantly raised awareness of the Programme. In

2015/2016 there were 164 applications (29 DEIS and 135 non-DEIS), and in 2016/2017 there were 270 applications (53 DEIS and 217 non-DEIS) A total of 28 of the 100 places were allocated to students from DEIS schools, which is in keeping with our objective of being more inclusive and enabling increased access to the Bar. The packed programme took place over five days in early February, and enthralled all who attended In addition to numerous staff from The Bar of Ireland and members of the Council, 38 barristers, four judges, a court-based Garda, three legal correspondents, two King’s Inns representatives and the Chief Justice ensured that the week was a tremendous success. When the students were asked in evaluation forms to reflect on what they had learned over the week that they didn’t know before, their answers varied, but common answers included: it takes hard work and persistence to be a barrister, but it is worth it; you need confidence, a competitive streak and good communication skills; and, it’s not like on TV!

Facilitating members’ continued professional development

Work commenced on the transformation of the Sheds attic in August 2016 and The Gaffney Room opened in November This dedicated CPD space has been a resounding success and much welcomed by members It has been fitted with state-of-the-ar t technology so that we can now webcast all seminars both live and on demand. This means that our members can log on to the members’ section of the website and view a seminar as it is taking place, and indeed even ask questions of the speaker Awareness of the webcasting facilities is increasing among the membership, from 70% in February 2017 to 87% by May 2017 Evaluation forms are now distributed at all CPD events. This process allows suggestions for future seminars and also asking

how they found out about the seminar, so that events can best be advertised to members This feedback has confirmed that our e-zine In Brief remains the most popular method of communication of CPD events

New Practitioners’ Programme

The New Practitioners’ Programme for first years has now been extended to include any barristers transferring from another jurisdiction, and also any barrister who has returned to membership after a break of more than five years This mandatory programme now comprises nine lectures throughout the year as well as orientation day and two CPD seminars with masters and mentors. Following feedback from members, seminars on practice management and employment law now form part of the programme

Advanced Advocacy

Two more Advanced Advocacy programmes were successfully completed over the last year, along with a faculty training session given by highly-accomplished advocacy trainers from the UK, including two judges Twenty-six senior members participated in the two-day course in September, which was based in the Four Courts In April, it was the turn of junior members and 27 of them took part in a one-and-a-half-day course in the Criminal Courts of Justice. We acknowledge Aon’s continued and generous sponsorship of the advocacy course.

Denham Fellowship

In March 2017, The Bar of Ireland launched The Denham Fellowship, a programme to assist two aspiring barristers annually who come from socioeconomically

disadvantaged backgrounds to gain access to professional legal education at the King’s Inns and professional practice at the Law Library The Fellowship, which is being run by The Bar of Ireland in association with The Honorable Society of King’s Inns, endeavours to encourage more diversity in the legal profession. Denham Fellows will be provided with financial, educational and professional suppor t from point of entry to the Barrister-at-Law degree programme at the King’s Inns all the way through their first four years of practice at the Law Library, creating a five-year programme and culminating in what is hopefully going to be a successful, rewarding and long-lasting career at the Bar.

The Denham Fellowship is a standalone programme; however, it seeks to act as a follow-on from the many and various well-established access routes to thirdlevel education that are currently in operation across universities and other higher education institutions in Ireland, and which are targeted specifically at those who come from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. After an extensive engagement process with law schools and access offices in a number of Irish universities with regard to eligibility, target audiences and application processes and procedures, The Denham Fellowship opened for applications on March 13, 2017 A number of visits and presentations were made to students in University College Cork, University of Limerick, Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin to promote the Fellowship, offering students the opportunity to ask questions, and to hear about the life and career of a barrister Interviews were held in May 2017 and the two most deserving Fellows were selected; we look forward to supporting their journey to a successful career at the Bar.

STRATEGIC

OBJECTIVE 5 Regulation

they have attained 10 CPD points c e r t i f i e d

To enhance and advance the regulation of barristers for the benefit of the public , and ensure compliance with the Code of Conduct , is of impor tance to Council of The Bar of Ireland in the context of the principles of better regulation for the benefit of all.

Changes impacting on the manner of PII compliance checks

All members of the Law Library are required to have professional indemnity insurance (PII) in place and to produce evidence of having a current policy each year to the Council, which is held on record. The Code of Conduct and Rules of Membership of the Law Library set out the rules governing this requirement

In Februar y 2017, the Librar y Committee and Professional Practices Committee (PPC) issued a notice of a member’s requirement to produce evidence of their PII renewal for 2017/18 before Monday, May 1, 2017. A number of changes had taken place that caused The Bar of Ireland to make changes to the manner in which compliance checks for PII are under taken

For data protection reasons, Aon was not in a position to provide The Bar of Ireland with information in relation to the renewal status of any member under the group PII scheme. First Ireland, the other primary PII provider in the market, ceased providing The Bar of Ireland with details of renewals last year (2016), also for data protection reasons The Legal Services Regulation Act 2015, Par t 5, when commenced, has the ability to approve a group scheme such as the Law Library PII Scheme It is imperative that The Bar of Ireland can demonstrate that the auditing and monitoring process to check

compliance of our members can meet the standard expected of an external regulator Our records now demonstrate the evidence that all members of the Law Library have PII in place

Legal Services Regulatory Authority

The Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) was established in October 2016 and the details of its work since then are contained in its Annual Report 2016, minutes of meetings and publications, which are available on its website – www.lsra.ie.

An LSRA committee that was established in June 2016 to oversee our interaction with the LSRA met on six occasions, and work focused on responding to consultations on legal par tnerships, cer tain issues relating to barristers, and multi-disciplinar y practices, which are available on www lawlibrary ie

Regular continuing professional development (CPD) updates were delivered by Paul McGarry SC and Tony McGillicuddy BL, and an ar ticle ('Prepare for change') by Brendan Savage BL, appeared in The Bar Review

Continuing professional development

CPD is the ongoing process of learning, and it is the system we use to maintain, improve and broaden the knowledge and skill that a barrister needs to perform their professional duties throughout their professional life

A total of 99 1% of members (an increase of 0 6% on last year) have made their annual mandator y cer tification that they have attained 10 points (hours) of CPD activities, including a minimum one point for an ethics

Property and Estate Services

2016/17 has seen significant development with the establishment of Estate Services, led by the new Estates Manager John Cunniffe The Estate Services team is tasked with operating a property portfolio of 70,000m2 to its maximum potential, while supporting the requirements of members and staff.

Some key points to note:

n A new helpdesk has been launched, which provides a point of contact for anyone using our proper ties who wishes to repor t a fault or request building service support. During the period December 2016 to May 2017, there have been more than 500 service requests logged, an average of 83 per month.

n The Estates Services team has been busy assisting with several important matters raised by members, including issues raised in the Criminal Cour ts of Justice, and problems arising in Cork Library after a new restaurant opened in March.

n In an effort to fill vacant offices, Estate Services refurbished vacant rooms and has commenced a communication strategy to fill these offices Demand for offices has increased in recent times, with waiting lists in place for smaller offices

n Operational changes are under way with contractors to ensure more efficient and effective work practices.

n During the year, various Estate Services projects have been under taken across Law Librar y buildings Key projects planned for this summer include the proposed conversion of the old Sky Bar in the Church Street Building.

ground floor of the Church Street Building into a new seating area for

Finance Committee is to move the existing restaurant to the front of the building and put in additional member seating in a format similar to the new seating arrangement on the ground floor, increasing seating capacity by a fur ther 20 seats.

Staffing over view

Positioning our staffing structure to enable team members to deliver their

2016/2017 we have focused on three strategic components of human resources: resourcing, skills and structure.

time equivalent (FTE) headcount has remained largely unaffected, with just an 11% change experienced between October 2015 and July 2017, our skill set has been considerably enhanced. Today, we have a range of new in-house professional skills derived from both existing team member development and the introduction of new colleagues

System was launched providing a formal platform for staff engagement, per formance recognition, and learning and development discussions. In

March 2017, our first formal learning and development programme was introduced with great success Looking for ward to 2018, we will seek to preser ve the dynamic staffing structure we have achieved and stimulate continued positive engagement and learning progress through a range of people-focused initiatives.

Driving IT for ward – a new foundation

T

Communications Technology (ICT) Director, John Kane, to oversee the development of an IT strategy as a foundation to suppor t the deliver y of t h e s t ra te g i c o b j e c t i v

provided to members This foundation will underpin effective deliver y of our administrative function and, equally impor tantly, our ser vice deliver y to members

Focused investments in Wi-Fi (upgrades in November 2016 and Januar y 2017) and printers (upgraded in October 2016) have already increased the reliability and functionality of these ser vices for members during this l e g a l y e a r We a re n o w e v a l

objective of reducing the amount of time required to print each job This

members.

Te c h n o l o g y a n d t h e d a t a i

impacts on all aspects of our private and commercial lives The advent of the new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) means that we must all reconsider the way we view the data that we hold electronically a

corporations and sole traders, and consequently place a large compliance burden on barristers Our work to suppor t members in this area is already well under way, and several communications and seminars on the subject, held in Dublin in January and May 2017, Athlone in March 2017 and Cork in June 2017, have been ver y well received Our most obvious activity to assist members in their GDPR compliance is t h e d e p l o y m e n

accounts, commenced in March 2017, and was completed in June 2017.

T h e n e x t p h a s e w i l l o f fe r m e m b e r s t h

encr ypted online storage area

T h e f i n a l p h a s e , l a u n c h i n

ability to encr ypt their email attachments

T h i s te c h n o l o g y i n v e s t m e n t , w h i c h c a n b e a cce s s e d f ro m a n y w h e re a t a n y t i

re s i d e s o n s e r v e r s i n t h e E U / E E A a re a E n c r

to ensure that any data you hold is only accessible to you and the intended re c i p i e n t ,

addition to the technology platform, we are also designing a framework to assist members' compliance with the GDPR. The ICT team is delivering high-value ser vices to members across multiple systems, ensuring that there is an engine of innovation at the hear t of our organisation that will continue to craf t better IT solutions that members can use to enhance their practice and provide value to their clients.

TREASURER’S REPORT

Review of financial performance for The Bar of Ireland and related entities

for year ended September 30, 2016

information technology in the Law Librar y.

Following changes to the Bar’s Constitution, which came into effect in this legal year, the Finance Committee now formally oversees investment,

technology.

The financial statements for The Bar of Ireland are set out in the following pages of this Annual Repor t and the financial statements for all other

entities in The Bar of Ireland Group will be made available at the Annual General Meeting in July

position of The Bar of Ireland Group for the year ended September 30, 2016.

The Bar of Ireland and subsidiary entities recorded a consolidated surplus of ¤1 76m for the year ended September 2016, which is 3 5% ahead of the budget set by the organisation in June 2015

I n re ce n t

stabilised. This has enabled much of the necessary investment in services to occur without the requirement to increase subscriptions to members. Consolidated income at ¤14 6m was comparable to last year Operating expenditure increased by 3 8% to ¤12 9m A more detailed review of key

Table 1: The Bar of Ireland Group consolidated income and expenditure 2015/16.

THE BAR OF IRELAND GROUP

expenditure variances is covered later in this repor t Overall the increase

a r i s e s f ro m a co m b i n a t i o n o f i n v e s t m e n t i n s e r v i ce s , s u c h a s i m p ro v e d

co m m u n i c a t i o n s a n d re g u l a t i o n s e r v i ce s , g re a te r a cce s s to co re l e g a l

d a t a b a s e s , s u c h a s We s t l a w, a n d s o m e o n e - o f f e xce p t i o n a l co s t s a r i s i n g

f ro m a s t a f f re o rg a n i s a t i o n a n d co s t s a s s o c i a te d w i t h t h e re f i n a n c i n g o f

t h e p ro p e r t y d e b t w i t h A I B i n J a n u a r y 2 0 1 6

Re v i e w o f i n co m e

Total consolidated income increased marginally to ¤14.6m, 0.5% up from

t h e p re v i o u s y e a r. Ke y p o i n t s to n o te .

n S u b s c r i p t i o n i n co m e a t ¤ 8 . 6 m i s co m p a ra b l e to t h e p re v i o u s y e a r.

Membership numbers fell slightly in 2015/16, with 96 new members

a d m i t te d i n O c to b e r 2 0 1 5

n I n co m e i n L a w L i b ra r y P ro p e r t i e s Lt d i n c re a s e d

¤ 4 3 6 m d u e to i n c re a s e d ro o m o cc u p a n c y a n d a f u l l y e a r l e t t i n g o f

t h e J a m e s o n B u i l d i n g . n I n co m e i n L a w L i b ra r y F i n a n ce Lt d fe l l s l i g h t l y to ¤ 0 . 5 2 m a s d e p o s i t

i n te re s t ra te s fe l l to a re co rd l o w H o w e v e r, t h e i n c re a s e s i n

co m m i s s i o n i n co m e f ro m B a n k o

i n c re a s e o f 3 4 % T h e m a i n v a r i a n ce s i n c l u d e t h e fo l l o w i n g i te m s

l L i b ra r y b o o k a n d l e g a l d a t a b a s e co s t s i n c re a s e d b y ¤ 7 0 k d u e to book price inflation dealing with monopoly suppliers, which can be

f i n a n c i a l l y c h a l l e n g i n g , a d e c re a s e i n t h e v a l u e o f e u ro v e r s u s

s te r l i n g , a n d i n v e s t m e n t i n l e g a l d a t a b a s e s , t h e m o s t s i g n i f i c a n t o f

w h i c h w a s to p ro v i d e a l l m e m b e r s w i t h a cce s s to We s t l a w i e

l A s T h o m s o n Re u te r s n o l o n g e r p ro d u ce T h e B a r Re v i e w , t h e production of this flagship publication was taken in house The new co s t a s s o c i a te d w i t h t h i s i n 2 0 1 6 w a s c i rc a ¤ 5 0 k .

l S t a f f co s t s i n c re a s e d b y 3 % m a i n l y b e c a u s e o f a p a y a d j u s t m e n t

a p p l i e d to s t a f f i n O c to b e r 2 0 1 5 a n d o n e - o f f re c r u i t m e n t co s t s .

l T h e re w a s a o n ce - o f f re o rg a n i s a t i o n co s t o f ¤ 1 7 0 k re l a t i n g to t h e

d e p a r t u re o f f i v e l o n g s e r v i n g s t a f f, w h o a l l re t i re d i n M a rc h 2 0 1 6

¤1,400,000

¤1,200,000

¤1,000,000

¤800,000

¤600,000

¤400,000 ¤200,000

FIGURE 1: The Bar of Ireland surplus by entity 2015/16

n E x p e n d i t u re i n L a w L i b ra r y S e r v i ce s Lt d i n c re a s e d b y 1 2 % to ¤ 9 3 2 k

m a i n l y d u e to a m a j o r i n v e s t m e n t i n i n fo r m a t i o n te c h n o l o g y ( I T )

s e r v i ce s , w h i c h i n c l u d e d t h re e m o n t h s o f t h e n e w M i c ro s o f t 3 6 5

i n v e s t m e n t a n d h i g h e r d e p re c i a t i o n o n i n v e s t m e n t i n I T h a rd w a re .

n B a n k i n te re s t p a y a b l e i n L a w L i b ra r y P ro p e r t i e s Lt d re d u ce d f ro m

¤810k in 2014/15 to ¤628k in 2015/16 as a result of the new seven-

y e a r p ro p e r t y f i n a n c i n g a g re e m e n t w i t h A I B I n 2 0 1 6 / 1 7 , i n te re s t

co s t w i l l re d u ce to ¤ 5 6 0 k w h i c h w i l l e n a b l e t h e co m p a n y to re d u ce

t h e d e b t b u rd e n a t a f a s te r ra te . T h e re w e re e

co s t s to t a l l i n g ¤ 2 0 1 k a s s o c i a te d w i t h t h i s re f i n a n c i n g a r ra n g e m e n t ,

i n c l u d i n g a ¤ 5 0 k a r ra n g e m e n t fe e , l e g a l fe e s , v a l u a

p ro p e r t y d u e d i l i g e n ce co s t s

Capital expenditure

T h e i m p ro v i n g f i n a n c i a l s t a b i l i t y h a s e n a b l e d t h e o rg a n i s a t i o n to i n v e s t

i n i m p o r t a n t c a p i t a l e x p e n d i t u re o v e r t h e y e a r I n 2 0 1 5 / 1 6 , t h e

o rg a n i s a t i o n i n v e s te d ¤ 1 . 1 m c a p i t a l p ro j e c t s . A p o r t i o n o f t h i s

e x p e n d i t u re re l a te s to ro u t i n e u p g ra d e s fo r a s s e t s p a s t u s e f u l l i fe , s u c h

a s I T h a rd w a re , re p l a ce m e n t f u r n i t u re , re f u r b i s h m e n t , e t c I n a d d i t i o n

to t h i s ro u t i n e e x p e n d i t u re , t h e fo l l o w i n g i n v e s t m e n t s w e re m a d e

Table 3: CAPITAL EXPENDITURE SUMMARY 2015/16 ¤’000

Gaffney Room – the newly refurbished CPD/events space in The Sheds

High-specification AV system for the Gaffney Room

members' seating in the Church Street Building

finance system

Upgrade of fire system in the Distillery Building

Phase one of a two-stage project to upgrade Church Street

and Distillery roofs

A n i m p o r t a n t p o i n t to n o te i s t h a t t w o o f t h e m a i n m e m b e r s e r v i ce

focused projects, namely the Gaffney Room and the new Church Street

m e m b e r s e a t s , w e re f u n d e d f ro m s u r p l u s e s f ro m L a w L i b ra r y F i n a n ce

Lt d I m p ro v e d p ro f i t s i n t h i s co m p a n y a r i s e f ro m i m p ro v e d co m m i s s i o n

s h a r i n g a r ra n g e m e n t s w i t h B a n k o f I re l a n d a n d A o n .

I t i s a l s o i m p o r t a n t to n o te t h a t p ro p e r t y c a p i t a l e x p e n d i t u re i n

b u i l d i n g s o w n e d b y L a w L i b ra r y P ro p e r t i e s Lt d i s f i n a n ce d f ro m p ro f i t s i n t h i s co m p a n y

D e b t re f i n a n c i n g I n J a n u a r y 2 0 1 6 , L a w L i b ra r y P ro p e r t i e s Lt d w a s s u cce s s f u l i n refinancing the proper ty debt with AIB, who took on this business from K B C B a n k T h e n e w a r ra n g e m e n t w i t h A I B w a s u n d e r t a ke n o n

s i g n i f i c a n t l y i m p ro v e d te r m s a n d co n d i t i o n s fo l l o w i n g a t h o ro u g h

te n d e r i n g p ro ce s s . A c h i e v i n g t h i s i m p ro v e d d e a l w a s m a d e p o s s i b l e

b e c a u s e o f t h e l o y a l t y a n d co m m i t m e n t o f m e m b e r s o cc u p y i n g o f f i ce s , creative initiatives to increase income, major cost reduction programmes and a commitment to prioritise debt reduction The general uplif t in the e co n o m y a n d co m m e rc i a l p ro p e r t y a l s o l e d to i m p ro v e d v a l u a t i o n s a n d

co n s e q u e n t l y a s t ro n g e r l o a n to v a l u e ra t i o , d e e m e d i m p o r t a n t b y

b a n k s .

A I B p ro v i d e d p ro p e r t y f i n a n ce o f ¤ 2 5 m o n J a n u a r y 3 1 , 2 0 1 6 fo r a n

e x te n d e d s e v e n - y e a r p e r i o d B y t h e e n d o f t h i

reduce the debt to approx ¤15 5m At the end of September 2016, the b a l a n ce d u e to A I B w a s ¤ 2 4 . 5 m .

D u b l i n

Budget for 2016/17 As noted last year, following many difficult financial y e

Group has stabilised 2016/17 was the second year of the Strategic Plan

i n c re a s e o f 3 0 % .

T h e i m p

y e a r ’s A n n u a l Re p o r t , co n

h e

investment in member ser vices, including a major investment in capital.

O v e r t h e co u r s e o f

i n p l a ce

The Finance Committee has overseen this transformation without having to raise costs to members and remain committed to monitoring strong financial governance on members’ behalf.

Other impor tant finance matters

Update for the period October 2016 to June 2017

2 0 1 6 / 1 7 h a s s e e n s i g n i f i c a n t d e v e l o p m e n t s i n

establishment of Estate Ser vices, led by the new Estates Manager, John Cunniffe, and the strategic development of information technology led by the Director of ICT, John Kane Both areas are key to achieving the s t ra te g

expanded

In overseeing the financial aspects of member services development, the Finance Committee was keen to achieve as much as possible within the existing resources and without increasing costs to members. While this was achieved for 2016/17, some of the initiatives were financed from accumulated reserves of the organisation. This was possible as the reserve position had improved in recent years

Review of income and expenditure for the half year to March 31, 2017

For the first half of the year, the consolidated net surplus of the group at ¤0 86m is 1 2% ahead of last year and 1 8% behind budget Overall the organisation is per forming in line with expectations and expects to achieve the budget surplus of ¤1 57m by year end

The number of members leaving the organisation increased from 54 in

variance Membership numbers at March 31, 2017 at 2,183 are 31 lower t h a n M

than last year.

to higher demand for rooms At ¤2 2m, income was ¤40k higher than last year Income from other entities is as expected Overall, expenditure at ¤6.6m is in line with budget across each entity.

There are some minor positive and negative variances. The main negative variance relates to the investment in IT ser vices to provide members with a p l a t fo r m to

legislation (GDPR), coming into force from May 2018 and to provide a more robust email, storage and advanced encryption system to members.

The move to the new Office 365 system is well under way now following detailed member communications on this matter.

Budget 2017/18

T

organisation and proposed a draf t budget for the legal year 2017/18 to Council at its meeting on June 21, 2017.

The budget has been a challenging process this year Following a long period of holding subscription rates in place since 2008 and followed by two years of reductions between 2012-2014, the Finance Committee in re ce n t y e a r s h a s b

investing in ser vices.

h e

significant investments in recent years Mainly because of this it will no longer be possible to hold subscriptions rates at existing levels and an increase will be required in the for thcoming legal year, expected to be in

the region of 3% Rest assured the increase will be kept to an absolute minimum and for 2017/18 the investment will be par tly financed from reser ves

The Bar of Ireland Professional Indemnity Insurance Policy

Unfor tunately, the terms and conditions of renewing the organisation’s professional indemnity insurance policy were impacted negatively as a direct consequence of recent cases against the organisation

Premium increases of over 300% were being quoted to retain a Judicial Review extension on the policy, even allowing for a major increase in the p

requirement to find a minority co-insurer

Following difficult and lengthy negotiations with Zurich, in order to keep

Judicial Review (JR) claims. T h i s m

organisation from any future JR claims

Sara Moorhead Treasurer and Chairman, Finance Committee

The Council of The Bar Of Ireland

Accounts

for the year ended September 30, 2016

AUDITOR’S REPORT

To the members of The Bar of Ireland

In our opinion, the Balance Sheet and the Income and Expenditure Account give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Council of The Bar of Ireland as at September 30, 2016, and of the results for the year then ended In our opinion, proper books of account have been kept by the Council and the accounts are in agreement therewith We obtained all the information and explanations we considered necessary

Derek Ryan

For and on behalf of HLB Ryan Limited

Char tered Accountants and Registered Auditors

Date: December 20, 2016

The Council of the Bar of Ireland - Trustees and other information

Year ended September 30, 2016

Trustees

Conor J Maguire SC

Denis McCullough SC

Turlough O’Donnell SC

Chairman

Paul McGarry SC

Vice-Chairman

Seamus Woulfe SC

Honorary Treasurer and Chairman of the Finance Committee

Sara Moorhead SC

Chairman of the Library Committee

Seán Ó hUallacháin SC

Chairman of the Professional Practices Committee

Mícheál P. O’Higgins SC

Chairman of the Education And Training Committee

Mary Rose Gear ty SC

Chairman of the Public Affairs Committee

Grainne Larkin BL Director

Ciara Murphy

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT

AS AT SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

Bankers

Bank of Ireland, Law Library Financial Services, Four Cour ts, Dublin 7. Auditors

HLB Ryan, Char tered Accountants and Registered Auditors, Harmony Cour t, Harmony Row, Dublin 2 Solicitors

McDowell Purcell, The Capel Building, Mary ’s Abbey, Dublin 7.

McKenna Durkan Solicitors, 66 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2

BALANCE

FIXED ASSETS

Leasehold premises at cost

Additions

Less: Depreciation on leasehold improvement

Furniture and fittings

Additions

Less: Depreciation on furniture and fittings

LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES

Subscriptions

Signed: Paul McGarry

Date: December 20, 2016

Signed: Sara Moorhead

Date: December 20, 2016

SCHEDULES ON ACCOUNTS

YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

DIRECT MEMBER SERVICES

Library Services employment costs

Staff training

Books

Book binding/storage

Legal databases

Law repor ts and Pink Sheets

Library research and development

Continuing professional development

JILL system

Bar Review/other publication

Document exchange

Courier services

Printing and stationery

Telephone

Computer expenses

Miscellaneous services

Research

Bar

Subvention

Subventions

SCHEDULES ON ACCOUNTS

YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

Schedule 2

PREMISES EXPENSES

Distillery usage fee and service charge

Criminal Cour ts of Justice charge

Refund of energy costs CCJ

Cork lease and office cost

Rates

Light and heat Security

Repairs and

Cleaning

SCHEDULES ON ACCOUNTS

YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

Schedule 3

ADMINISTRATION EXPENSES

Administration employment costs

Recruitment

Restructuring

Other staffing costs

External relations expenditure See Schedule 4

Conferences

Functions

Bar Council expenses

Professional Conduct Tribunal and PCTAB

Communications and public relations

Telephone, postage and courier

Printing and stationery

Arbitration/mediation conferences

Professional subscriptions

Audit fees

General

Bank

Miscellaneous

SCHEDULES ON ACCOUNTS

YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

Schedule 4

EXTERNAL RELATIONS EXPENDITURE

Voluntary Assistance Scheme

Innocence internship

Rule of Law Project

Transition Year Programme

Independent law centres

Children's Rights Alliance

CCBE/DAV EU lawyers in Lesvos project

Capuchin Day Care

External Relations Committee expenses

International Women's Day

Family Lawyers Association

Other Community Liaison Fund

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

1. Stock of books

It is the policy of the Council of The Bar of Ireland to write off the cost of books against income in the year in which they are purchased, thereby leaving a nil value for the stock of books held on the balance sheet The actual stock of books was valued in December 1979 at ¤177,763 Additions at cost less sale proceeds since December 1979 amounted to ¤7,794,351, making a total value (valuation plus net additions) at September 30, 2016 of ¤7,972,114, excluding any books lost or damaged

2. Cash at bank

3. Capital account