Legal aid dispute rumbles on in Donegal courts
MULTIPLE court cases were adjourned at Letterkenny District Court on Monday as solicitors continued industrial action over planned changes to the criminal legal aid system.
The disruption in Letterkenny formed part of a nationwide dispute after Minister Jim O’Callaghan confirmed that a new flat-fee payment system for criminal legal aid cases will come into effect on July 1.
Under the current legal aid payment solicitors are paid €239.38 for the first appearance on behalf of a defendant, and subsequent appearances are paid at €59.86 each.
Under the reforms, it was originally proposed that solicitors would receive a fixed fee of €455, regardless of how many court appearances a defence solicitor would have to make.
Since yesterday the proposed flat-rate-fee has been increased to €520 and will be discussed by Minister Callaghan in an Oireachtas Justice committee meeting today. It is expected that the planned payment model will proceed from July 1.
At Letterkenny District Court yesterday, only custody cases proceeded – both on video-link and for those in the dock.
The Department of Justice said their review of more than 350,000 District Court cases found those involving legal aid took an average of 313 days to conclude, compared with 133 days for cases without legal aid. It also raised concerns about repeated adjournments and the way some firms structured legal aid claims.
Solicitors across the county have downed tools in all cases except those they are obliged to represent, such as custody matters.