Three-quarters of new solicitors on Irish roll are from UK

The Law Society of Ireland has revealed that three-quarters of solicitors registering in Ireland in the last year were from the UK.

A total of 1,448 solicitors were admitted to the Irish roll over the past 12 months, of whom only 350 were Irish citizens.

Ken Murphy, director general of the Law Society in Ireland, told the Law Society Gazette that only 220 of the total admitted had taken out practising certificates.

Mr Murphy said: “All the evidence that the society has is that England and Wales solicitors, almost without exception, are staying exactly where they are. And where they are, in the overwhelming majority of cases, is either London or Brussels.

“They have come through the administrative process of entering their names on the roll of solicitors in Ireland, even in some cases having taken out practising certificates, for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with any intention to establish in this jurisdiction.”

However, he said Ireland would welcome any firm that wanted to relocate from the UK to Ireland.