Taoiseach voices support for O’Callaghan after rape trial comments

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said he will not intervene in the deepening dispute between solicitors and Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan.Speaking on his way into Cabinet on Tuesday, Martin also said O’Callaghan had an obligation to “say it as he sees it” after the Minister suggested rape trials were being “deliberately affected” by solicitors withdrawing their services.O’Callaghan is engaged in a long-running dispute over reforms to the criminal legal aid scheme that saw a per-appearance fee system in the District Court dropped in favour of a flat fee approach over the summer.“The Minister will deal with this, and I won’t be intervening in the situation at all,” Martin said.READ MOREThe Law Society issued a statement on Tuesday calling on O’Callaghan to “meet and try to resolve this escalating dispute, which now affects every level of our criminal courts: the District Court, the Circuit Court and the Central Criminal Court. “Despite numerous requests, the Minister for Justice has not met the Law Society since July 27th,” it said. “The administration of justice is being disrupted across the country, causing real anxiety and distress to victims of crime, defendants and all court users.” It said it had written to O’Callaghan four times since July seeking “a meeting and meaningful engagement to resolve the two core outstanding issues relating to the new criminal legal aid scheme”. The dispute escalated on Monday with the withdrawal of services expanding to cases including custody and children’s cases. Six rape and sexual offence trials involving accused people on bail were adjourned on Monday.The Taoiseach said, “I support the Minister in terms of what he’s endeavouring to do, in terms of reform of our courts, and I would share his regret [that] what appeared to be a significant number of rape cases were not heard”. [ Judge ‘coerced’ into adjourning six rape and sexual offences trials as solicitors withdrawOpens in new window ]He denied O’Callaghan had escalated the situation with his comments, which the Minister initially made to RTÉ on Monday evening and is expected to repeat in an appearance at the Oireachtas justice committee on Tuesday.“I don’t think he’s putting fuel on the flames,” the Taoiseach said. “I don’t think the action yesterday is necessary, quite frankly. The Minister has an obligation to uphold the law, say it as he sees it.” Martin said there had been “significant participation” in criminal cases in the District Courts “across the length and breadth of the country” despite the withdrawal of services.“The Minister is open for ongoing engagement, but reform of our legal services and of our courts has been sought for a long time, and it’s important that these reforms bed down,” he said.Martin added that O’Callaghan had already changed some aspects of the reforms and was open to further engagement with solicitors.“If you look at the figures, we haven’t pulled back any funding from the legal courts or the system. It’s the other direction: we’ve increased it significantly ... I do believe investment and reform come together,” the Taoiseach said. Asked about a report in The Irish Times on Tuesday detailing the lack of a special care place for a 14-year-old girl who is being sexually exploited by a group of men, Martin said he did not have the details of the case but it was “a very serious situation, obviously”.[ No special care place available for girl (14) being sexually exploited by group of menOpens in new window ]He said he would speak to Ministers, including O’Callaghan, Minister for Children Norma Foley and Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers, who will receive written details of the case following an instruction by Judge John Jordan.Also speaking before Cabinet, Minister for Housing James Browne said some local authorities had become “way too reliant” on the purchase of completed or nearly completed homes as social housing.Browne will brief Ministers on Tuesday on a plan to phase out the purchase of so-called “turnkey” units as social housing. He told reporters the practice had caused “real frustration” among private buyers who could not buy the units themselves.He said the move was designed to “force [local authorities’] hands and really think about how they’re delivering social homes”.