O'Callaghan refuses to scrap €520 legal aid fee as courts disrupted

Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said on Monday 19 October that he would not revoke the new criminal legal aid regulations, but was willing to adjust them and talk to the Law Society of Ireland. He said: “I’m not going to revoke the new regulations,” adding “The new regulations are there. I’m happy to tweak the new regulations, if there’s a necessity to do so. I’ll engage with the Law Society in respect of that.”

The dispute intensified on the same day, with the withdrawal of services expanding to cases in the Central Criminal Court. Many defence solicitors, particularly in Dublin, withdrew legal aid services after a new flat fee system for District Court cases was introduced in July. O’Callaghan said there had been “significant progress” in implementation, citing the issuing of more than 3,400 legal aid certificates since it was introduced, and said there are “very many solicitors who are working the new system and working it very effectively” while acknowledging “there is an issue in respect of solicitors in Dublin”.