Minister and Law Society agree on ‘focused’ engagement aimed at resolving legal aid row

The Minister for Justice and the Law Society have agreed on an engagement process aimed at resolving the dispute over a new criminal legal aid payment scheme for the District Courts.The “short, focused” engagement involving representatives from the Department of Justice and the society will begin on Friday and continue next week, the department said in a statement on Wednesday. Statements from the department and the society were issued shortly after a delegation from the society, led by its president Rosemarie Loftus, met Jim O’Callaghan for about an hour on Wednesday morning. The department said the parties discussed the operation of the new criminal legal aid regulations – introduced on July 1st – and the withdrawal of services by some solicitors, “which is impacting the operation of certain criminal courts”. READ MOREIt said the Minister and the society “agreed on the need for a short, focused engagement between their representatives over the next week”, commencing on Friday. “This engagement will explore areas for adjustments within the scheme to address the concerns being raised by practitioners, while ensuring the purpose of the reform – to speed up case resolution and improve the operation of the District Court – is preserved,” it said. The Law Society statement said the discussions covered the operation of the new criminal legal aid scheme and the solicitors’ withdrawal of services, “which is affecting all levels of the criminal courts”.“Both sides agreed on the need to find a resolution without delay, and on the need for further time-bound engagement between their representatives,” it said. “The engagement will explore adjustments to address practitioners’ concerns and help deliver an effective and sustainable criminal legal aid system that protects access to justice and commands the confidence of those who use it.“The Law Society delegation welcomed the opportunity to meet and made clear that this dispute is having a real and significant impact on the administration of justice.”[ The criminal courts are operating, but not ‘effectively’, as Jim O’Callaghan claimsOpens in new window ]The society, the statement said, has already set out two core issues that, if addressed, would resolve the key concerns of criminal defence solicitors. “We remain committed to working constructively with the Minister and his officials to reach a resolution.”The first issue arises from the new €520 “one flat fee”, introduced on July 1st for criminal legal aid work in the District Courts, applying irrespective of the number of appearances a case may require. The solicitors say many delays are outside their control, including due to awaiting DPP directions, books of evidence, or psychiatric and probation reports, and a further legal aid certificate should be available after 10 appearances.The second issue relates to clients facing several separate and distinct prosecutions. Under the new scheme, the solicitor receives one fee if those cases happen to be listed on the same day. In such cases, solicitors want the scheme to permit certificates for separate cases committed on separate dates, with the number of certificates capped at five per client, per court, per day. They say this would directly address the Minister’s concerns about the issuing of multiple certificates under the old scheme.[ If you think legal aid is expensive, wait until you hear how costly the alternative isOpens in new window ]O’Callaghan has described the number of multiple certificates among the “abuses” of the old scheme and said the new model is aimed at achieving savings and efficiencies in the context of rising expenditure on criminal legal aid.The work of the criminal courts across all divisions has been disrupted since many criminal defence solicitors, particularly in Dublin, began withdrawing their services on July 1st. A number of judges have criticised solicitors for withdrawing services for defendants without court permission.Separately, the High Court is due to rule next Tuesday on a challenge by Dublin solicitor John Quinn over the legality of the new payment scheme.