The Director of Consumer Affairs, Carmel Foley, has requested the Law Society to convene a meeting in order to consider and start to clarify allegations of wrongdoing in connection with solicitors’ fees.
Ms Foley is a member of the Law Society's Complaints Committee.
The claims that solicitors representing victims of residential child abuse are being paid twice for their work were made by callers to the RTÉ Radio programme, Liveline, yesterday.
The alleged payments involved are for work with people appearing before the Residential Institutions Redress Board.
The Redress Board pays solicitors directly for their work on behalf of those claiming compensation.
In a statement this evening, Carmel Foley said serious issues have arisen and it is essential that they be dealt with immediately and transparently.
The Director General of the Law Society, Ken Murphy, has said the legal profession as a whole is disgusted and angry at the allegations.
He said anyone who feels they were overcharged could contact the Law Society, which he said has the power to ensure that where there has been overcharging, the money will be repaid.
He also said that if overcharging occurred, it would be a serious disciplinary matter for the solicitors concerned.
