Minister and Law Society reach agreement to end legal aid payments dispute

A settlement has been reached in the bitter dispute over a new criminal legal aid payment model for the District Courts.The deal was reached on Tuesday, the third day of talks between Department of Justice officials and the Law Society over the new scheme. Statements concerning the deal are expected shortly. It paves the way for solicitors to resume work on Wednesday.The High Court last week found key elements of the new payment model to be “grossly unfair” and “illogical”. READ MOREEarlier on Tuesday, as the talks were continuing, Judge Mary Rose Gearty, when adjourning the issue of final orders arising from her findings to November 24th, urged the sides to try and resolve matters themselves.The judge last week upheld a challenge by Dublin solicitor John Quinn to the new scheme, introduced by the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan, from July 1st last. It provided for one flat fee payment of €520 irrespective of complexity of a case or the number of appearances. Under the old scheme, solicitors were paid €240 for a first appearance and about €60 for each subsequent appearance.O’Callaghan said the new scheme would achieve efficiencies and end “abuses” of the old scheme, particularly relating to seeking multiple legal aid certificates, while solicitors said it meant they will not be paid for their work in more complex cases.Many solicitors embarked on a widespread withdrawal of services from July 1st, causing serious disruption of the criminal courts, with thousands of cases being adjourned. A considerable number have since returned to work, particularly from early October and more are resuming work this week in anticipation of a settlement.Hopes for a speedy resolution increased after O’Callaghan and the Law Society agreed in late October to embark on a process of what the Minister described as “short, focused” engagement. That entered its third day on Tuesday.Criminal defence solicitors staged a protest over the legal aid reforms on the first day of the new legal term outside Central Criminal Court in Dublin on October 5th. Photograph: Clodagh Kilcoyne/PA Wire When reserving judgment on July 31st on Quinn’s challenge, Gearty had expressed hope the parties could resolve the issues. That hope was repeated in October, before her judgment being delivered on November 3rd. When the case was mentioned on Tuesday, Feichín McDonagh, senior counsel for Quinn, said there had been an exchange of correspondence and the Minister wanted more time to consider his position in light of the ongoing discussions. His side hoped those talks would not go beyond this week and, if nothing happened, would be seeking final orders.Shane Murphy, senior counsel for the Law Society, supported a “short” adjournment.Davy Lalor, for the Minister, asked for a two-week adjournment, saying talks with the Law Society are ongoing, with a third meeting on Tuesday, and the Minister needed time to address the issues canvassed in the judgment. Those include issues relating to severance of those aspects of the new scheme subject of the court’s adverse findings, the court heard. It was “not immediately apparent” if severance is a final remedy or whether a suspended declaration by the court is appropriate and this depended on the outcome of the talks, counsel said. Gearty, granting a two-week adjournment, said the issues would “benefit greatly” from the continuing talks.“That has always been my view”, she said, remarking “nothing could be better than a resolution” between the sides who would be “working together for years to come”. The severance issue is “not straightforward” and there are other issues regarding payments to solicitors assigned under the new regulations, she said. These are all industrial relations matters that can be resolved between the sides and would be “much more complicated” if the court had to make orders, she said. Two separate challenges over aspects of the regulations, that are pending in the court’s judicial review list, may also be affected, she said. Those two cases are listed for mention on December 1st. In those circumstances, the judge adjourned the case for mention on November 24th.