Legal Aid fees dispute hits Leitrim courts

The ongoing dispute between solicitors and the Minister for Justice in relation to the imposition of a flat fee under the Legal Aid scheme has disrupted Leitrim court sittings.

The new fee, introduced by Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan TD on July 1st, means that solicitors will get paid a flat fee of €520 to cover all representations for a client in the District Court under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme.

Under recent reforms, fees in circuit and higher courts have been increased by 8%.

Solicitors around the country are up in arms at the imposition, without dialogue, of the flat fee.

Carrick-on-Shannon Circuit Court was due to sit for a two week period commencing at the start of last week. However, due to the dispute, trials have been adjourned until October at the earliest.

An estimated 10 solicitors in Co. Leitrim have withdrawn their services, as well as all solicitors in neighbouring counties.

The longer the dispute continues, the greater the expected impact on people's access to justice in criminal cases.

A Carrick-on-Shannon based solicitor, Martin Burke, spoke to the Leitrim Observer about the origins and impact of the dispute.

“When the economic crash happened in 2008, there were cuts to the fees to solicitors under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme. That was fine, but as the years progressed, other industries got restorations. We did not,” he stated.

“Solicitors were guaranteed to get full restoration of fees. However, the flat fee introduced on July 1st is not only not a restoration, but it is a further cut in fees,” Burke added.

“In March, Minister O'Callaghan released a paper on this issue. Since then, the Law Society (the representative body for solicitors) have begged for engagement. Meetings took place, but at the outset of those meetings, the Minister stated that this is happening on July 1st, without any negotiations,” Burke added.

“The Minister has claimed that solicitors are causing a lot of adjournments. However, it is not the case that defendant solicitors in criminal cases are looking for adjournments,” he stated.

Martin Burke, who has ran his own business since 2014, believes that the Ministers stance shows his lack of understanding of the workings of the District Courts.

“He has shown that he does not understand the workings of the District Court. Every criminal case, bar offences against the state crimes, starts in the District Court, including rape and murder cases,” Burke stated.

However, some of these clients are vulnerable. They have mental health problems or come from lower socio-economic backgrounds. This is ground zero for them – there needs to be a pathway for both them and society. Solicitors are passionate about this work, it is nearly more like a vocation,” he explained.

“I have bills and staff to pay. On Tuesday of last week, I spent the day in Carrick Circuit Court. Then, I went to Longford District Court in order to explain my position. I didn't get paid for that work,” he explained.

The Knockvicar native qualified as a solicitor in 2008 and stated that, “it is nice to work in my local area.”

Minister O’Callaghan recently stated that he was “not for turning” in the dispute.