Carlow solicitors to withdraw services in row over legal aid fees
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FURTHER disruption is expected in the courts this week as solicitors in Carlow and across the country continue to withdraw services over proposed changes to the fee structure of the free legal aid system.
The reforms, proposed by justice minister Jim O’Callaghan and due to come into effect from 1 July, would see the introduction of a flat fee of €455 for solicitors handling district court cases, no matter how many times the case is heard.
Under the current system, a solicitor is paid for each court appearance, starting at €239.39 for the first appearance and then €59.86 for each subsequent appearance.
Speaking to yesterday (Monday), managing partner of Farrell McElwee Solicitors in Graiguecullen, Joe Farrell, confirmed that the entire list in Carlow for this week, with the exception of cases involving people in custody, will be adjourned.
Mr Farrell, who is president of the Carlow Solicitors Bar Association and a member of the Criminal Justice Solicitors of Ireland Association, said that solicitors in Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford and Waterford will continue to represent people in custody as they feel they have a “commitment to them”.
Meanwhile, solicitors in some parts of the country, such as Cork, are withdrawing their services completely.
A key bone of contention in the dispute, according to solicitors, is the department’s lack of consultation with solicitors on the ground in district courts across the country, despite minister O’Callaghan saying last week that there had been “extensive consultation” with the Law Society of Ireland.
“All we are looking for is that the Department of Justice or minister O’Callaghan would sit down with our representatives from the Law Society instead of just proceeding unilaterally with this from 1 July,” Mr Farrell said.
A similar structure of flat-rate fees has been in place in civil family law cases; however, Mr Farrell said this has ended up in a lack of solicitors taking on such cases.
“There are only two solicitors in Carlow who take on legal aid family law cases in the district court, and there are only two solicitors in Kilkenny who do it as well, simply because it does not make economic sense,” Mr Farrell said.
The department’s report on the proposed changes identified a number of statistics, such as the length of time it takes for a criminal legal aid case to conclude – the report states that it takes 313 calendar days for a criminal legal aid case to conclude, compared with 133 days for those without legal aid.
Speaking about the issue last week, minister O’Callaghan said: “There are very clear abuses going on in the system”, adding that he would not be performing his duty as a minister if he did not confront those abuses.
Mr Farrell said the department has focused on a few outliers and most adjournments are at the request of the state â such as waiting on directions from the DPP or forensic drugs testing â rather than because of any deliberate delay by solicitors.
“If there is an abuse to any system, you go after the people that are abusing the system,” Mr Farrell said.
“Everyone would welcome that, but with this flat-rate fee, you are going to find solicitors reviewing their willingness to provide representation under the proposed new scheme,” he added.
