A report from the Oireachtas Justice Committee has called for legal-aid fees for criminal barristers to be restored “as soon as possible, and as a matter of urgency”.

It has also called on the Government to reconsider a proposal to transfer responsibility for the payment of criminal legal aid from the Department of Justice to the Legal Aid Board.

The calls came in the committee’s report on the draft Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Bill 2023.

District Court fees

The committee also says that consideration should be given to introducing a system of direct payment of fees to barristers representing criminal legal-aid cases at District Court level, which should be put on a statutory basis.

Its report said that, under the current system, District Court judges had discretion to activate a non-statutory scheme.

Barristers staged a one-day “withdrawal of services” nationwide on 3 October as part of a campaign to restore criminal legal-aid fees to levels seen before reductions that were implemented in the wake of the financial crash.

The Government later announced in Budget 2024 that criminal-defence barristers and solicitors would receive a 10% increase in fee rates next year.

Among other recommendations, the report says that the legislation should “state clearly that victims shall not be required to comply with a means test, or make any contributions, in order to access legal-aid services or legal advice in relation to sexual offences”.