Criminal barrister strike ‘damaging credibility of the bar and justice system’ – Long
Strike action by criminal barristers is damaging the justice system and the credibility of the criminal bar, Justice Minister Naomi Long has claimed.
The industrial action is part of a long-running dispute by criminal barristers in Northern Ireland over fees for legal aid, which has seen crown court cases involving those who require legal aid effectively halted.
Speaking during questions for the Justice Minister at the Assembly, Ms Long said she is expecting the outcome of a review into the issues raised.
DUP MLA Pam Cameron raised the case of Ian McCollum, who died in a workplace accident in Newry in 2022.
Earlier this week Walter Thomas Christopher Manley, 55, of Loanda Crescent, Newry, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the case, with a sentencing hearing due to take place on June 29.
Ms Cameron asked whether the strike would be likely to have been resolved by that date.
Ms Long said she has asked her officials to assess the recommendations from the review and for them to provide advice to her as a matter of urgency.
“I hope that it will ultimately result in a return to service immediately. However, as I said on the day when I met with McCollum family, I believe that the CBA (Criminal Bar Association) ought to return to service now,” she told MLAs.
“You ought not to be in a position as a minister where you feel that you are negotiating with a gun to your head, and essentially that is what’s happening.
“Because I am fearful too, of the attrition of victims and witnesses through these processes. I am concerned about the impact on their mental health through the length of wait that they have, and I am concerned about the impact in terms of our wider justice system, where backlogs build up and we do not have the reserves in terms of the money to be able to address those.”
She went on: “It is doing damage to and justice system, and I would argue it is doing damage to the credibility of the criminal bar, and I would urge them go back to work, come back to the table and we will resolve these issues in a fair way, based on the evidence that the accelerated review has presented.”
Opposition leader Matthew O’Toole queried why the impasse remains ongoing, putting it to the minister that “this seems like a crisis that you will not or cannot solve”.
Ms Long responded: “The truth of the matter is that there is nothing to stop the criminal bar coming back to work at any time.
“It will not influence the outcome of the accelerated review that they remain outside, it will not change the outcome of my deliberations on the report of that review.
“That arrives with me on April 24, and it is with my officials now for them to provide advice, which I anticipate getting in the next few days, and I will make quick decisions with regard to that in terms of a way forward.
“The only people who can control whether or not they return to court are the criminal bar themselves, and I would urge them to do so.”
The Criminal Bar Association said: “Since the action was commenced at the start of January 2026, the focus of criminal barristers has been centred on working with the Department of Justice to find sustainable solutions to the problems associated with the administration of criminal legal aid and to enable all barristers to return to all crown court matters.
“To that end, we have been fully engaged with an ongoing Review of Criminal Legal Aid, and more latterly an Accelerated Review of Criminal Legal Aid.
“The findings of the accelerated review were provided to the Department of Justice on April 27 and we await the departmental response to the findings.
“The minister confirmed to the Assembly this afternoon (Tuesday) that her department has been in receipt of the review findings for some weeks now.
“It is the aim of the CBA that all barristers make a return to crown court work as soon as possible and that progress can be made on all cases. To that end the DoJ must act with urgency and purpose on their response to the findings of the accelerated review”.