The payment of what seemed to the average person to be exorbitant barristers' fees for tribunal work tended to bring the administration of law into disrepute, said Mr Jim Walsh (FF).
Given the recent difficulties, the Department of Finance had experienced in finalising counsels' fees for a forthcoming tribunal, the matter should be taken up with the appropriate Minister to ensure that barristers in particular were subject to the spirit and the effectiveness of competition law, he said.
The fact that they had been seeking fees of £2,000 and subsequently agreed what appeared, to the average person, to be exorbitant fees of £1,450 a day tended to bring the administration of law into disrepute.
The leader of the House, Mr Donie Cassidy, said he would see how his party colleagues' proposal could be progressed.
Proposals by former Labour leader, Mr Dick Spring, to widen substantially the franchise for the election of university senators drew a warning from Trinity member, Mr Shane Ross, who said the real purpose of the proposal was to obtain extra seats in the House for the Labour Party. Anyone who considered the suggestion as some kind of gesture to democracy, should see the hidden agenda behind it, he said. Mr Ross was commenting on remarks by Mr Joe Costello (Lab) who claimed the Spring proposal would affect greatly the profile of the House.