Over 100 criminal solicitors walk out over aid dispute

More than 100 criminal defence solicitors walked out of the district courts in Dublin this morning as part of their continued protest against a new legal aid scheme introduced earlier this year.

The solicitors say a new flat fee payment of €520 per client in the district court is unworkable.

Last week they voted unanimously to continue their withdrawal of services which began in June.

Under the old system, a solicitor was paid for each court appearance by a client starting at just over €239 for the first appearance and almost €60 for each subsequent hearing.

Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said the old scheme incentivised multiple adjournments and said cases paid for by legal aid took longer to complete than other cases.

Solicitors said that many adjournments were sought by the prosecution.

They have also argued that many legal aid cases are complex and take longer because they involve children or vulnerable clients.

After talks with the Law Society, a change to the new scheme to allow staged payments failed to resolve the dispute.

Solicitors say they want the Minister for Justice to come back to the table and engage meaningfully with them.

Solicitor Michael Finucane said the continued delays and adjournments in the criminal justice system caused by the dispute was a “ticking timebomb” that would have implications for criminal proceedings further down the line.

Solicitor Tony Collier said the criminal justice system was effectively griding to a halt.

He said victims of crime were being left in limbo and those who are accused were going without legal representation.

Criminal defence solicitors based in Munster have also voted to continue their withdrawal of services.

The dispute led to some accused being denied bail in the district court while not legally represented.

Some were subsequently granted bail by the High Court, which ruled their detention had been unlawful.

The court heard further similar actions during August and the State is now facing huge legal bills for costs in those cases.

The High Court is due to give its ruling next month in a judicial review taken by one solicitor challenging the new payment scheme.

Solicitor John Quinn wants the statutory instrument underpinning the scheme to be quashed.

His lawyers argued the new regulations did not allow district court judges to exercise discretion about issuing legal aid certificates.

And they also submitted that a flat fee of €520 could not be appropriate for someone facing one charge as well as for someone facing multiple charges.