Law Society mobilises against Criminal Legal Aid proposals
In a submission that was sent to the Department of Justice in March, the Law Society set out in unequivocal terms its opposition to the Department of Justice’s current Criminal Legal Aid reform proposal.
- Policy
Proposals will not work
The proposed changes to Criminal Legal Aid in the District Court are seriously flawed and will not work.
The Law Society cannot support or endorse a proposal that will remunerate practitioners with a fixed payment for an indeterminate amount of work.
As a fundamental principle, the approach to the payment of practitioners under any legal aid system must be fair. In order to be fair, the system must have a sufficient element of flexibility that ensures that remuneration is reflective of the work done by the practitioner.
The likely failure of the current proposals would serve no one’s interests and certainly not the wider public – whose safety and confidence in the criminal justice system depend on its effective operation.
Minister’s stance
Through his response to parliamentary questions and through correspondence, the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan continues to reiterate his intention to introduce the Criminal Legal Aid reforms by 1 July.
The Minister has stated that “the Programme for Government contains three commitments in relation to criminal legal aid. The first is to reform the operation of the criminal legal aid scheme. The second is to restore the fees. And the third is to enact the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Bill. It is my intention to fulfil all three commitments.” (PQ, 19.03.26)
Law Society action plan
The Law Society has put into effect a political engagement plan. We have embarked on a series of meetings with each of the opposition spokespersons on Justice, members of the Oireachtas Justice Committee, as well as with party backbenchers to outline the Law Society position on the proposed reforms.
In addition, engagement with civil society groups is ongoing. Meetings with a number of leading organisations in the fundamental rights and justice space have already taken place.
How you can help
While the Law Society will leave no stone unturned in its efforts, it is also important that Ministers, TDs and Senators hear directly from practitioners on their concerns in relation to the reform proposals.