The Minister for Justice has said he will not revoke the new legal aid fees system for solicitors and would not bow to political pressure on the issue, though he reserved the right to make “tweaks” to it.
Minister Jim O’Callaghan said the ongoing row over the new fees paid to solicitors for their work in the District Court is not about blaming solicitors, reports RTE.
It emerged last week that a total of 55 solicitors have resigned from the criminal legal aid panel due to the dispute.
President of the Law Society, Rosemary Loftus, said the move would make criminal legal aid practice financially unsustainable for many solicitors, reports RTE.
Under the old system, a solicitor was paid for each court appearance by a single person, starting at €239.38 for the first appearance and then €59.86 for each subsequent hearing, with the new system replacing that with a €520 flat fee.
“Some solicitors think that if they put enough pressure on the system to disrupt cases, that this is going to result in political pressure on me, and I’m going to revoke the regulations. That’s not going to happen,” he said, reports RTE.
Minister O’Callaghan added: “This is about recognising that the system needs to be improved, and a system which has a payment structure, which encourages adjournments because you get paid more through an adjournment, is going to encourage situations like that.”
He said he was not attributing blame to solicitors or to the State, reports RTE.
“What I’m trying to ensure is that cases are determined promptly in the district court. It is a court of summary jurisdiction. The old fee was €240 plus €60 for each adjourned hearing. I’m now providing €520, which is a significant increase.
“Now that accounts for five hearings, and the average amount of hearings under the criminal legal aid scheme is five. So, the payment structure I’m putting in place now, I believe will encourage the quick determination of simple cases in the district court,” reports RTE.
Minister O’Callaghan said the changes would prevent situations like a recent case involving a man from Kerry who was charged with an offence in July 2023.
He said that by July this year, it still had not been determined, reports RTE.
“However, I will keep the process under review, and like any new scheme, there may be a requirement to make tweaks to it,” he said.
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