Dempsey 'knew of overcharging'

Angry abuse victims complained to minister in 2003, but say that he took no action

MINISTER Noel Dempsey was warned solicitors were overcharging abuse victims over two years ago - but nothing was done, it was claimed last night.
The then Education Minister, was told of the concerns they were being ripped off at a meeting in London with an organisation representing abuse victims, the group's spokesperson said.

Details of the meeting come as revelations emerged in recent weeks that some solicitors charged their clients for work at the Institutional Redress Board, although the board paid their fees.

The meeting was followed with a letter to the minister, obtained by the Irish Independent.

It raised concerns about the numbers of clients the particular solicitor was dealing with and referred to the previous meeting but did not specifically raise the double-charging again.

However, a spokesperson for the Minister, who now holds the Communications, Marine and Natural Resources portfolio, said there was nothing he could have done. She said that in such situations, victims would have been advised to take the matter up with the solicitor, the Law Society and the Redress Board.

The Department could not have got involved, she said, because they were respondents in some of the cases and because it could not interfere in a client/solicitor relationship.

Patrick Walsh, spokesperson for Irish-SOCA in Britain, said he met Minister Dempsey at Imperial College in March 2003.

"At that meeting I told Noel Dempsey of my very great disquiet at the conduct of one firm of solicitors who had issued and served a bill of costs for ?1,334 on one survivor, and in the case of another had demanded ?571.73 cash transfer fee plus a legal undertaking for, as then undisclosed costs, to be paid in the future," he said.

Mr Walsh said that in both cases, the women in question wanted to move away from the Cork-based firm.

"I told the Minister I had written to his chief legal officer at the time, February 6, 2003, and that he should ask him for the files because I had sent copies of all documents to him."

"Nothing materialised until September 2003 when I wrote to the minister reminding him of our meeting at Imperial College," Mr Walsh said.

"I asked the minister to investigate the propriety of these matters, and obviously it was always within his powers to refer the cases to the Irish Law Society for advice. He didn't do that - instead he did nothing and he is reported as saying that he 'couldn't have done anything', which is nonsense."

Martha Kearns