Criminal legal aid solicitors are threatening to withdraw from the legal aid scheme from tomorrow unless the Government engages with them over proposed changes to how they are paid.
The reforms, introduced by Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan, would replace the current system of payments for individual court appearances with a single flat fee for each case.
Solicitors argue the changes were introduced without meaningful consultation and warn they could make the criminal legal aid system unworkable, leaving people struggling to access legal representation.
Speaking on The KCLR Daily, Kilkenny based solicitor Joe Farrell rejected claims that the dispute is simply about money.
He said “the proposed system would see solicitors wait until the end of a case to be paid, which can take months, and warned they could receive no payment at all if a client fails to appear before proceedings conclude, even after multiple court appearances.”
The Law Society has also criticised the proposals, saying the flat fee does not reflect the amount of work involved in criminal legal aid cases, some of which can require more than 20 court appearances.
