President of the Law Society of Ireland, Maura Derivan, said, “The Law Society has welcomed the announced increase in criminal legal aid fees to be paid to solicitors and barristers. The proposed investment in the criminal legal aid scheme announced in today's Budget signals long-awaited progress towards full restoration of pre-recession fees for criminal defence lawyers. Such restoration will be an important step in increasing the availability of criminal legal aid to those who cannot afford access to justice.”

Budget 2024 includes a commitment of €9m “to make progress in restoring criminal legal aid fees with a 10% increase in early 2024”. Minister for Justice Helen McEntee also said “more work will be undertaken with the legal professions on further strengthening criminal legal aid”.

Director General of the Law Society, Mark Garrett, said, “We welcome the Minister’s commitment and look forward to working with the Department of Justice toward long-term sustainability of an efficient and effective criminal legal aid system.”

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