President Rosemarie Loftus attending the Law Society's International Women's Day event of 5 March

The year began relatively straightforwardly, with the usual flurry of meetings with bar associations, cluster events, and conferences – including meeting the visiting Ukrainian delegation in Dublin and attending the opening of the Paris Bar Association’s legal year in November, participating in the Future of Legal Practice Summit in January, and representing the Law Society at the CCBE’s 54^th European President’s Conference in Vienna in February.

I hosted the International Women’s Day Celebration in the Odeon in March and, in June, attended the Justice Media Awards and Irish Law Awards, as well as the 2026 Dublin Pride Parade.

In July, I hosted the Law Society’s Centre for Justice and Law Reform Summer School. A range of high-profile speakers provided expert Irish and international perspectives at Blackhall Place, attended by members of the judiciary, representatives of the Houses of the Oireachtas, senior civil servants, leaders of civil society organisations, academics, and practitioners. Speakers included former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Rose Gottemoeller (former deputy secretary general of NATO), Avril Haines (former US Director of National Intelligence), Dr Dmytro Kuleba (former Ukrainian Minister for Foreign Affairs), and Fergal Keane (author and journalist).

Just recently, in September, I also hosted an inaugural event to connect with our London-based practitioners to better understand how we can continue to contribute to their community and improve our connections. The London Irish Network event brought together legal professionals based in London who trained or qualified in Ireland.

Joining the profession to highlight the unfairness of changes to criminal legal aid changes to the public and members of the Oireachtas

Storm clouds

Though the year began brightly, by late February, however, storm clouds had begun to gather, with the announcement of the Government’s proposal to move to a single flat fee for the criminal legal-aid scheme.

Legal aid is a cornerstone of the justice system, serving as a vital mechanism to uphold the constitutional right to legal representation. By upholding the right to representation and a fair trial, the criminal legal-aid scheme ensures that justice in Ireland remains a fundamental right for all, rather than a privilege for those who can afford it.

As early as 5 March, the Law Society set out its strong opposition to a flat-fee model in a meeting with the Department of Justice and a detailed written submission reflecting input from the Criminal Law Committee and many members of the profession. We considered it astonishing that the department would seek to impose a model widely recognised as having already failed. The previous introduction of a flat fee in civil legal-aid cases involving family law has led to an exodus of solicitors working under the civil legal-aid scheme, as it became unviable to provide the service.

The Law Society has been of the view that reform of criminal legal aid is necessary and overdue. However, the proposals as advanced bear little resemblance to the reality of criminal practice in the District Court. They do not reflect how cases are conducted, the impact on those in need of legal representation, nor the demands placed on solicitors working within the system.

A key element of the Department of Justice’s argument is that it is the defendant and their lawyers who are primarily responsible for all the delays and adjournments in our courts. But we know from real-life cases that many, if not most, of the adjournments, hearings, applications, and delays are driven by the prosecution and the courts. A fixed fee for unlimited, unpredictable work simply places the blame on defendants and their solicitors for a system they do not control. We know that cases can be profoundly different. A minor summary matter and a lengthy, contested trial are not the same – yet this proposed model treats them as if they were, with predictable and damaging consequences.

Access to justice

As a profession, we have deep respect for the proper functioning of the criminal-justice system. That is why we work within it. It is also why individual colleagues have been protesting against these flawed proposals, acting out of frustration at the lack of meaningful engagement on their concerns. Lawyers, judges, gardaí, witnesses, victims, and clients – no one wants to be in the situation where criminal-law practitioners now find themselves.

If solicitors leave the scheme, as some have already indicated they will, access to representation will shrink rapidly. This has already happened in family law. The immediate consequence will be fewer solicitors available, longer delays, and an increased risk that individuals will face the courts without representation. Access to justice is now under serious threat.

The Law Society will continue to emphasise that the proposals, as currently framed, will not address the underlying difficulties within criminal legal aid. The research underpinning these proposals is, in our view, fundamentally flawed. We need a more efficient system that serves the needs of the public. But effective reform depends on having a reliable and objective evidence-base to understand the entirety of the situation.

Evidence-based policymaking can result in reforms that are more targeted and more effective. That’s why the Law Society’s Centre for Justice and Law Reform developed the Justice Indicators report, which seeks to provide policymakers with reliable and objective evidence when making policy decisions.

Drawing on over 100 national and international data sources, the publication evaluates the resourcing, effectiveness, and efficiency of the Irish justice system across four critical areas: trust, policing, courts, and prisons. The report demonstrates the value and importance of data as a foundation for evidence-based reform. We intend to revisit the indicators next year, to examine progress on those issues already assessed, and to identify others. In the meantime, the Law Society will use these findings to guide engagement with stakeholders and to support meaningful change‑based reform.

The centre has also prepared an initial report on the issue of ‘legal deserts’, seeking to explain both the emergence and pattern of legal deserts, their impact on the legal profession and wider society, and the root causes of the issue. The report will be further considered and developed over the forthcoming year. This aligns with one of the main priorities of my presidency, and I warmly welcome its progress.

Democratic principles

There are further worrying signs of growing barriers to access to justice, with potential wider implications across the system. The plan for a scale of fees in environmental judicial reviews is another example of this trend. Judicial review is an essential part of the justice system – one of the direct manifestations of the right to access the courts – and it has significant importance in environmental matters.

The claim that the growth in judicial reviews is a major barrier to the delivery of housing simply doesn’t stand up to scrutiny, but is being used to justify proposals to limit the costs that people can recover when bringing environmental judicial reviews. There is no evidence to support this narrative. In fact, data show that the number of judicial-review cases declined by 19% in 2025.

The Law Society recognises the need to increase the rate at which housing and critical infrastructure development can take place. However, the blame placed on judicial reviews brought by individuals masks the real root causes of the issues impeding development. Introducing a scale of fees will have no real impact on the merit of cases being brought. An unmeritorious case may still be brought if the applicant has the financial resources to support it. However, a scale of fees would prevent otherwise meritorious cases from being brought where the applicant does not have the required substantial financial resources.

Effective alternatives

There are proportionate and effective alternatives to a scale of fees, such as non-binding guidelines on costs to promote efficiency and early settlement, or developing internal-appeal mechanisms.

Judicial review is also in the crosshairs of the recently published general scheme of the Civil Reform Bill 2025, which aims to reform key aspects of judicial review and introduce reforms in relation to discovery and civil procedure.

The issues facing the profession, the justice system, and society as a whole are becoming more acute. The Law Society is playing its part by striving to achieve change for practitioners, to have our role as solicitors heard within our strategic aims, and to continue to be the beating heart and voice in our communities.

We must be the voice of change, particularly in the evolution and advancement of policy at Government level. This is essential for practitioners, especially those operating in firms large and small, rural and urban, so that Ireland continues to be a centre for investment and a magnet for international attraction.

Access to justice is not optional in a democracy. It must be protected – it is a core democratic principle in any modern society.

Rosemarie Loftus

President,
Law Society of Ireland