A Kerry solicitor says he supports the decision by solicitors involved in criminal legal aid cases to halt work on bail cases between now and Friday.
This action is taking place in a dispute over a proposed legal aid reforms involving solicitor fees.
From July 1st, the Department of Justice’s planned scheme would see solicitors in district court criminal cases receive a flat fee of €455 per client in criminal legal aid cases; this is regardless of how many hearings are involved in a case.
Tralee-based solicitor Pat Mann believes the flat-fee structure would be unfair as it doesn’t reflect the work being done:
The Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan has said his primary objective with this scheme is to speed things up, particularly at district court level where he feels like there could be too many unnecessary adjournments.
Solicitor Pat Mann rejects that argument.
He says solicitors want cases to progress, but the court system is overloaded:
