Law Society renews call for fees mediation
The Law Society has renewed its call for the appointment of an independent mediator in the dispute over a new fee structure for criminal legal-aid payments.
The call follows an information meeting on the dispute in Blackhall Place yesterday (16 September) attended by more than 240 practitioners.
Law Society President Rosemarie Loftus said that the level of attendance demonstrated the depth of concern that remained among practitioners.
The meeting discussed correspondence from Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan that rejected the suggestion of mediation.
The Law Society said that it was “deeply disappointed” that the minister had failed to offer any mechanism to resolve the dispute.
‘Available to engage’
The organisation also welcomed a statement from the Bar Council calling for a resolution to be reached on the matter before the start of the legal year on 5 October.
Dr Shane McCarthy (chair of the Law Society’s Criminal Law Committee) said that the body remained committed to finding a workable solution to the outstanding issues and was available to meet the minister “at any time”.
President Loftus also said that the Law Society remained available to engage constructively with the minister and his department “at any point” to restore stability to the criminal-justice system.
Judicial-review judgment
“The Law Society does not accept the minister’s view that it would be inappropriate to address these issues in advance of the judicial-review judgment due next month,” Dr McCarthy stated.
Dublin solicitor John Quinn is seeking an order quashing the statutory instrument that underpins the new scheme, which came into effect on 1 July.
“Every day that passes sees people denied meaningful access to justice,” Dr McCarthy concluded.