Lawyers lose out on €6.6m in payments amid criminal legal aid dispute

Lawyers on the criminal legal aid panel in dispute with the Department of Justice have sustained a cumulative €6.64 million hit to their income in criminal legal aid payments in July and August.Figures provided by the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan show the financial impact on lawyers currently in dispute with the department over a new flat €520 fee for criminal legal aid cases in the District Court.A partial withdrawal of services by solicitors took effect from mid-June and escalated to a near-blanket withdrawal from July 1st, save for custody cases and protocol cases, when the new payment model came into operation.The action has led to the adjournments of thousands of criminal cases with lawyers telling senior judges this week that the dispute is set to continue into October when the new legal year commences.READ MOREO’Callaghan has confirmed in a written Dáil reply to Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly that the €12.5 million paid in criminal legal aid payments to lawyers for July and August across the courts is €6.64 million down on the €19.15 million paid for the corresponding two-month period in 2025.Solicitors have received €6.47 million in July and August of this year compared with €9.63 million in 2025 – a reduction of €3.16 million over the two months.[ Criminal courts face ‘shutdown’ if legal aid dispute not resolved, justice committee toldOpens in new window ]The figures for July of this year show solicitors received €4.35 million compared with €6.33 million for July 2025 – a drop of €1.98 million – while for August solicitors received €2.1 million compared with €3.3 million for August 2025 – a drop of €1.2 million.As solicitors in dispute are not instructing barristers in criminal cases before the courts, the dispute is also having a significant financial impact on criminal legal aid panel barristers.[ Criminal legal aid solicitors warn services withdrawal set to run into new legal yearOpens in new window ]The detailed figures show barristers for July and August this year received €6.02 million through the criminal legal aid scheme compared with €9.5 million for the same two months in 2025 – a drop of €3.48 million.The Minister confirmed that barristers received €4.36 million in criminal legal aid payments for July compared with €6.33 million for July 2025 – a drop of €1.97 million; while for August barristers received €1.65 million, compared with €3.17 million for August 2025 – a decline of €1.97 million.Dublin-based solicitor Michael Hennessy was the best-paid solicitor on the legal aid panel last year where he received €971,155 (including 23 per cent VAT).[ ‘Completely arrogant approach’: O’Callaghan accused of ‘waffle’ amid ongoing legal aid rowOpens in new window ]Hennessy is continuing his withdrawal of services in protest at the new fee structure, and he said on Friday: “The new criminal legal aid structure falls dramatically short of what is required to conserve a robust criminal justice system.“What we have now is a framework in a state of complete chassis with unintended consequences coming to pass. The vastly overwhelming majority of Dublin-based firms remain individually steadfast in their opposition to what are fundamental unfairnesses in the scheme.”The impact on the courts has already been highlighted by Courts Service data showing the number of legal aid certificates granted has collapsed in July compared with July 2025 – down 93 per cent from 10,277 to just 702 in July 2026.