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Minister for Justice urged to resolve dispute as withdrawal of services by criminal defence solicitors puts strain on system
Minister for Justice urged to resolve dispute as withdrawal of services by criminal defence solicitors puts strain on system Solicitors walked out of the Courts of Criminal Justice in Dublin on Tuesday as part of the dispute over legal fees.
Photograph: Sam Boal/CollinsThe District Courts resumed full hearings this week with no sign of a breakthrough in the bitter dispute over a new payment model for criminal legal aid work in those courts. The impact of the withdrawal of services by criminal defence solicitors was underlined by Courts Service data.
Figures show the number of new legal aid certificates plummeted since the new payment model came into operation on July 1st. The 702 certificates granted in July, down from 10,344 in the same month a year earlier, shows the extent of the withdrawal of many solicitors from legal aid work under the new model. As full District Court hearings resumed nationwide on Tuesday after the August break, more than 100 defence solicitors took part in a walkout at the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin.
Their action was replicated by solicitors in courts across the State. Man jailed for murder of father of five in Cork golf-club attackThe withdrawal of services, which began in June and escalated from July 1st, has led to the adjournment of thousands of criminal cases. This has affected accused people, witnesses, victims and prosecuting gardaí, as well as adding to delays and backlogs in the courts.
The most controversial element of the new model is the flat fee of €520 per client, irrespective of the number of charges and court appearances. This replaced the previous system of about €239 for the first appearance and €60 for each subsequent appearance. Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan maintains the changed model will lead to efficiency and cost savings, but solicitors say it forces them to work for free on complex or delayed cases.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, some of the solicitors who have withdrawn services said the model was imposed without “meaningful negotiations”. They are in favour of reform but want two changes to the Minister’s proposal which are “fair, reflect the work they actually do, and would see them return to work immediately”, the statement said.
They want the Minister to issue certificates for offences committed on separate dates, with a cap of five certificates per defendant, per court, per day.
“As it stands, the Minister’s proposal means they would work for free once a case goes beyond what a single flat fee can reasonably cover,” the statement says. They also want a further legal aid certificate once a case exceeds 10 court appearances.
Fitness-to-plead cases , cases involving children and those with defendants remanded in custody often involve numerous court appearances, they said, which is driven by statutory and welfare rules and systemic delays. Tony Collier, a partner in Ferrys Solicitors LLP, said solicitors want the Minister “to engage comprehensively and substantially” with the Law Society, their representative body, to resolve these matters.
He also called on the Taoiseach and Tánaiste to intervene “in order to bring this dispute to an end”.
“The criminal justice system is effectively grinding to a halt and we are going to see Covid era-style backlogs in court cases as a result of this ongoing dispute with the Minister,” he said. “We want to be back at work but, as this dispute runs on, victims of crime are being left in limbo, defendants in the criminal legal aid system are going without legal representation and court cases will stack up more rapidly.
” In a statement, the Department of Justice said O’Callaghan “regrets the decision of some solicitors not to engage with the criminal legal aid panel”. It referred to “ongoing engagement” since last October between department officials, O’Callaghan and the Law Society and Bar Council in relation to the fee model and to some adjustments made to that structure, including front-loading the payment of two-thirds of the €520 fee.
The further changes sought are “not compatible” with the objectives of the reforms introduced as they would “reintroduce the possibility of multiple certificates being awarded when the intention is to move to a single fee per case”, the statement said. Two Irish men win appeal over convictions for killing Dublin drug dealer in NetherlandsDublin family’s former babysitter accused of armed burglary at their homeHolly Cairns repays €8,500 in expenses mistakenly paid by Oireachtas during maternity leaveMost primary and secondary students refused to go to school at least once last yearTwo Irish men win European court appeal over convictions for killing Dublin drug dealer in Netherlands
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