Circuit Court in Mayo faces backlog after solicitors withdraw their services

Cases on the first day of Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court had to be adjourned after solicitors withdrew their services as part of legal aid dispute

By Anton McNulty Published 29th Jun 2026, 13:30 BST Judge Eoin Garavan said Circuit Court in Mayo is facing a backlog in cases Cases on the first day of Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court had to be adjourned after solicitors withdrew their services as part of legal aid dispute Sign up to our Mayo Live newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Mayo Live within your account.

The Circuit Court in Mayo is facing a major backlog in criminal cases after solicitors withdrew their services resulting in a number of trials not going ahead this week.

The first day of the summer sittings of Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court sat this morning but no cases went ahead after solicitors withdrew their services as part of an ongoing dispute with the Department of Justice over reforms of the legal aid scheme.

Judge Eoin Garavan informed members of the jury panel who were due to sit on juries for up to nine criminal trials that their services were not needed and there was uncertainty on what business will be conducted this term.

“We had nine cases ready to go this morning and ready for your deliberations if you were picked for the jury but they can not now go on. We put them all into next Monday along with another nine cases and hopefully there may be progress in the dispute. I have no control over it and I cannot dictate over the legal aid issue and it is not for the court to interfere with that process.

“This dispute could end any day. If there are talks it could lead to an ultimate agreement but until then literally from one day to the other we don't know if work can proceed. We are all present and ready...but it is nobody's fault and not the desire of the staff or myself or the lawyers to delay work which really needs to be heard.

“It may well be that the dispute can be sorted out this week and we will be going again next Monday but that may not be the case. I am only hoping I will be picking juries next Monday. What is happening in Mayo is happening all over the State including Dublin and at the moment [cases] are not being progressed which of course will lead to a backlog next term,” he said before thanking the jury panel for attending to their civic duty before dismissing them from jury service.

At the beginning of the court, solicitors who were withdrawing their services did not attend the call-over but barristers attending their clients did turn up.

However, in the absence of their instructing solicitor, barristers informed Judge Garavan that they had received no instructions and could not proceed with the case. As a result, Patrick Reynolds, counsel for the State, asked Judge Garavan to adjourn the cases to a new date in July with the majority adjourned to next Monday, July 6.

Up to 50 cases including trial cases had to be adjourned including cases where defendants did not receive legal aid as the solicitor had withdrawn their services on a matter of principle. The Circuit Court in Castlebar is scheduled to continue until the end of July with a number of trials and sentencings due to be heard.

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Solicitors across the State started to withdraw their services earlier this month in the district court as part of a continued protest against plans by the Department of Justice to replace the current fee structure with a flat fee covering a fixed number of court appearances.

Currently, a solicitor is paid for each court appearance, starting at €239.38, and then €59.86 for each subsequent hearing but a new set fee of €455 will be payable regardless of how many court appearances there are.

The reforms, which are due to be introduced on July 1, have been described by the Law Society as a cost-cutting measure presented as reform.