Jim O’Callaghan returns to legal aid talks after High Court judge rules his changes ‘unfair’

Talks aimed at resolving the criminal legal aid dispute are to take place on Thursday after a High Court judge ruled that changes to the scheme introduced by Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan in July were “grossly unfair” and “illogical”.O’Callaghan is facing pressure to resolve the bitter dispute after a significant High Court judgment on Tuesday, in which Judge Mary Rose Gearty upheld a challenge by solicitor John Quinn to the scheme, finding the Minister had acted in excess of his powers under the legal aid Act. The highly critical nature of the ruling prompted surprise in the Department of Justice and led to intense criticism from the Opposition of O’Callaghan’s reforms, which introduced a flat €520 fee payment for solicitors under the criminal legal aid scheme regardless of a case’s complexity or the number of court appearances involved.Talks between Department of Justice officials and criminal solicitors are set to continue on Thursday, with a focus on at least one of the aspects heavily criticised in Tuesday’s ruling: that of a single payment being issued no matter how many charges are listed against an accused person. READ MOREO’Callaghan is not expected to retreat from the standard flat fee as a core reform, but talks are expected to consider more complex cases and what might be required for them.An appeal has not been considered yet, but some sources believe one could arise even if a truce is agreed in the wider dispute. The judge listed the matter before her next Tuesday to consider the matter of final orders.The Law Society welcomed the judgment, saying it was “an important affirmation that changes to the scheme on which victims and defendants rely must be made lawfully and with proper process”. It said it was committed to working with O’Callaghan and his officials.[ Analysis: High Court rejection of Minister’s legal aid model may push forward a dealOpens in new window ]In a statement, O’Callaghan said he would study the impact of the judgment, adding that “aspects of the new scheme have already been adjusted or are the focus of ongoing discussions with the Law Society of Ireland”. Amid an expectation in Government that the ruling would focus minds, the Taoiseach told the Dáil that aspects that had been the “subject of adverse commentary” had already been adjusted.Labour leader Ivana Bacik accused O’Callaghan in the Dáil of a “Rambo” approach, while Social Democrats justice spokesman Gary Gannon said the ruling was “damning”. Sinn Féin justice spokesman Matt Carthy described the ruling as a “deeply embarrassing setback” for O’Callaghan. Gearty said the provision for a single payment to a solicitor only when the final order in the case is made is “grossly unfair”. The Minister has since changed that, allowing for two-thirds of the fee to be paid at the beginning of the case and the remainder at the end, or after 12 months.The judge also said a provision allowing for one legal aid certificate at the beginning of proceedings, no matter how many separate offences an accused person faced or how many court appearances the case could involve, was “demonstrably illogical”, not justified by the Minister and exceeded his power under the legislation.Fine Gael backbencher Barry Ward, who is also a criminal barrister and has been a prominent critic of the reforms, said there was a “clear indication from the High Court now that this matter needs to be resolved and the resolution of it lies with the Minister”.[ The woman facing €50k legal costs over €16.5k claim: Legal aid row highlights issues in other Irish courtsOpens in new window ]His party colleague James Geoghegan, who is also a barrister, said he hoped there would be a resolution to the issue that “ensures that the solicitors go back into the court” with “the criminal justice system back working, functioning in the way that it should be”. Mike Crowe, a Fianna Fáil councillor in Galway and a barrister, said it was “in both sides’ interests to resolve it between them before the end of this working week”.