IMF denies undermining Irish legal system

The IMF has denied it tried to undermine the country’s legal system when as part of the Troika it insisted on changes to cut lawyers costs as part of our austerity programme.

Instead, it said, the Government led the changes now in the controversial Legal Services Regulation Bill going through the Oireachtas, and the IMF and the European Commission supported their broad goals.

However, high-level meetings between the IMF and the commission early in 2012 reportedly led to the IMF agreeing it would leave issues relating to the judiciary to the commission that has more experience in the area, according to an EU source.