More than 100 solicitors in Dublin have indicated they intend to resign immediately from the criminal legal aid panel in an escalation of their dispute with the Government over fees.
The decision to resign was taken following a meeting at the Criminal Courts of Justice on Monday of solicitors from some of Dublin’s biggest law firms engaged in free legal aid. The solicitors involved also agreed unanimously that no criminal defence services would be provided under the new legal aid structure.
Solicitors will also continue to refuse to provide advice to suspects detained for questioning in Garda stations.
The new legal aid scheme was introduced by the Government on July 1st. It will provide a flat fee of €520 for solicitors representing clients in criminal cases at the District Court level. This will replace a flat fee of €240 plus €60 for each subsequent hearing.
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Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has said he is not for turning over the issue of a set fee for free legal aid cases. Speaking following the unveiling of the Courts Service of Ireland annual report, O’Callaghan said he will keep the new system under review, but the decision to offer a flat fee was taken at Cabinet on February 28th this year and will not be revoked.
“I think part of what’s happening at present is that some solicitors think that if they put enough pressure on the system to disrupt cases that this is going to result in political pressure on me, and I’m going to revoke the regulations. That’s not going to happen,” he stressed.
The Minister said the new regulations are being introduced to stop abuses of the system whereby solicitors get a fee for each adjournment. He also said it will help speed up the processing of cases.
Most solicitors will benefit from the new fee structure, he suggested, as the average case involves five hearings.
He also said that only a small number of solicitors had withdrawn from the free legal aid panels, but that was before Monday afternoon’s announcement.
The group of solicitors said the new fee structure was imposed “without meaningful consultation or discussion with key stakeholders”.
Among the firms that have withdrawn their services are Ferrys, Staines, KOD Lyons, Sheehan & Partners, Fahy Bambury and Hanahoe Solicitors.
“Under the new scheme, the Minister has imposed a fixed fee that is intended to cover all work in criminal cases, regardless of complexity or duration,” they stated. “The scheme also issues payment to the solicitor at the end of the case, regardless of when they became involved, or if they replaced a different solicitor at a late stage.”
Solicitor Tony Collier, one of the organisers of the meeting, said: “The terms of the new scheme do not address the complex needs of our clients or take account of the cost of providing effective criminal defence representation. People who appear before the courts are often the most vulnerable and require public assistance to fund their defence. The Minister has forced solicitors to withdraw our services because of his failure to engage properly with us.
“All solicitors are ready to engage with the Minister to try to resolve the dispute and we hope a fair and reasonable solution can be found.”
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Speaking in Leixlip on Monday afternoon, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said there was “no question” that the fee structure covering criminal legal aid needed reform, and reports “pointed to the need to develop a more competitive, cost-effective legal system”.
“The Minister has engaged with the Law Society and with other stakeholders in respect of this, and has made improvements to the original fee levels. I think it’s time for people to engage,” he said.
“I’ve seen different changes before in the legal world and, despite what people said, for example, when the PIAB [Personal Injuries Assessment Board] was introduced, there was huge opposition at the time. It settled down, and that was a very important innovation.”
