Court cases adjourned over proposed legal aid reform - The Munster Express

Court cases adjourned over proposed legal aid reform The Munster Express

A number of cases at Waterford District Court were adjourned last Tuesday 9 June, on the same day that over 150 solicitors met in Dublin to voice their concerns over proposed reform to Ireland’s criminal legal aid system.

In February, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan announced his intention to reform the criminal legal aid fee structure in the District Court, with the introduction of one flat-fee of €455 for solicitors representing clients from beginning to end of a case. In the current model, a solicitor is paid each time a defendant appears in court. The change is due to be introduced from 1 July 2026.

At the time of the announcement, Minister O’Callaghan said “this reform will lead to a more efficient system by reducing unnecessary adjournments. It will also simplify the administration of criminal legal aid, resolve cases sooner and ensure practitioners are remunerated fairly.”

However, the proposed change has been met with strong opposition from solicitors across Ireland. In a recent survey conducted by the Law Society Gazette of 212 solicitors, 82.55% of respondents said it is “neither fair nor workable.”

A total of 70% of solicitors surveyed said that they would be ‘unlikely’ or ‘very unlikely’ to continue taking on District Court criminal legal-aid cases under the proposed model, with 96% indicating that the proposed changes will negatively affect a defendant’s ability to secure legal representation, particularly with vulnerable defendants.

Over 150 criminal law solicitors met at the Law Society of Ireland’s headquarters in Dublin last Tuesday 9 June to voice their concerns. Representatives from the Department of Justice were invited to the meeting but declined to attend.

At a sitting of Waterford District Court last Tuesday 9 June on the same day as the meeting, a number of matters were adjourned to the end of the month, with only a handful of other new cases being dealt with.

Several solicitors made reference to the action throughout the proceedings. Solicitor Derrick Connors stated he was “aware that we are on strike apart from new matters” and before solicitor Martina Mullins made a submission on behalf of one of her clients, she told Judge Kevin Staunton that she did not intend to ‘disrespect’ her colleagues by doing so.

Solicitor Ken Cunningham told one of his clients who queried proceedings that “today’s list will not proceed due to issues outside of the court’s control.”

Mr. Cunningham told The Munster Express that the proposal isn’t ‘feasible’ or ‘sustainable.’

He said: “The impression that I’m getting is that the Department of Justice hasn’t listened and doesn’t want to listen. It’s absurd, unworkable, and has been imposed on stakeholders without a real understanding of how the system works, including consulting with main stakeholders, including us as criminal defence solicitors.”

Mr. Cunningham said District Court cases “can be much more complex than people would expect” and include matters such as theft, cases where a defendant requires a psychiatric report and could be waiting months for this to be completed, or where multiple appearances are needed when directions are awaited in a case to decide if a matter can stay in the District Court or be sent to a higher court.

He told this newspaper: “The flat fee proposal for this just isn’t feasible. It’s not sustainable, and it can be impossible for cases to be dealt with in one day if you’re doing your job correctly as a solicitor.”

President of the Law Society of Ireland Rosemarie Loftus said it was a ‘discourtesy’ for representatives of the Department of Justice to not attend last week’s meeting. She said the proposal is ‘unworkable’ and that “there will be a decline in access to justice and an exodus of solicitors” because of it.

Solicitors at the meeting were given a document about the proposals which was only received by the Law Society the day before. Chair of the Law Society Criminal Law Committee Shane McCarthy told attendees that the document left many issues unresolved.

Mr. McCarthy said: “What we are hearing from practitioners – who came to Dublin from all over Ireland today – is that these proposals would lead to practitioners no longer taking on District Court legal-aid work, with inevitable consequences for defendants, the courts and the wider justice system.”

“Practitioners are raising legitimate concerns based on the realities of how this work is done every day, and the Department of Justice needs to address the serious concerns of solicitors before pressing ahead with changes that will have lasting and harmful effects,” Mr. McCarthy added.

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