'We are going to have a legal desert in Limerick at this rate' warns local solicitor
The Minister for Justice has said that he is “standing over” his decision to impose a flat fee on legal aid cases
SEVERAL solicitors met with Limerick TDs Niall Collins, Richard O’Donoghue, and Conor Sheehan to address their concerns about the new model for criminal legal aid on Wednesday, July 15.
A flat fee model for criminal legal aid replaced a fee for each appearance model within the District Court on July 1.
The solicitors asked the TDs to raise their concerns with the new scheme, and press the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan to engage with the Law Society of Ireland.
Andrew d’Arcy, President of the Limerick Solicitors Bar Association stated: "The Department has designed a structure that assumes every case is the same. It isn't.”
“A case involving a child, or someone with a serious addiction or mental health difficulty, needs far more time - more court appearances, more meetings and more patience. None of that is reflected in a flat payment."
Mr d’Arcy continued: “We are going to have a legal desert in Limerick at this rate.”
"As we have told the minister many times, the Department of Justice is replicating a model that has already proven to be a failure – in family law. The same approach in civil legal aid (family law) drove solicitors out of this area of practice and created legal deserts, with the Legal Aid Board itself reporting it cannot maintain a consistent nationwide service. Replicating it in criminal law will predictably produce the same exodus.”
Taoiseach Míchael Martin said in the Dáíl on Wednesday: "There has been engagement - the minister and the department have engaged with the Law Society."
"What was going on was unacceptable in terms of multiple adjournments and the fee structure did need to be reviewed and reformed," the taoiseach added.
The Minister for Justice has said that he is “standing over” his decision to impose a flat fee on legal aid cases.
Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme