Legal watchdog won’t be able to consider complaints until 2019

Barrister Brian Doherty, in his first interview since his appointment last September, told the Irish Independent that considerable work had to be done before then.

He said the Authority is currently in the process of expanding its staff, adding: “Our priority is getting the LSRA up and functioning as soon as humanly possible, fulfilling the broad remit that it has got, making sure the interests of the public and consumers in particular are protected.

“But this has to be carefully managed. The nightmare scenario for me would be to rush into something that would be ad hoc or haphazard that could serve to undermine protections for the consumer.

“There are plenty of international examples of where regulation or oversight has been rushed. I don’t intend for us to fail. I intend that whenever we start, we will be ready for business.”