Statement by Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration regarding Criminal Legal Aid Dispute

The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan TD has stated that it is deeply regrettable that certain solicitors have withdrawn services in cases paid for by the State under the criminal legal aid scheme on Wednesday, 22nd July 2026.

An 8% increase was applied to all criminal legal payments to solicitors and barristers in the Circuit Court and higher courts since the 1st July 2026. A new single payment of €520 was introduced for summary cases in the District Court which is an 8% increase on previous payments made for five appearances, the weighted average number of appearances in the District Court where cases are paid for under the criminal legal aid scheme.

The Minister stated:

The Minister and Department’s engagement with the Law Society is set out below.

ENDS

1. There has been ongoing engagement with the Law Society and the Bar of Ireland over a number of years regarding the reform of criminal legal aid.
2. In October 2025, the Review of the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme was submitted for consideration to the Law Society and the Bar of Ireland.
3. A meeting was held between the Department, the Law Society and the Bar of Ireland on 15 October 2025 to discuss the findings of October 2025 Review, which highlighted issues concerning criminal legal aid in the District Court.
4. Following that meeting, both representative bodies were invited to make submissions by 14 November 2025.
5. The Law Society submitted feedback. The Bar of Ireland reverted to indicate, in substance, that as the majority of the report related to fees payable to solicitors under the criminal legal aid scheme, it did not propose to express a view in relation to those aspects of the report.
6. On 23 January 2026, the Department issued correspondence to the Director General of the Law Society and to the Chair of the Bar of Ireland, informing them that it was proposed to restore criminal legal aid fees from 1 July 2026 through an increase of 8%, in tandem with changes to the fee structure in the District Court.
7. In particular, in these letters, the Minister stated his view that “the restoration of the 8% should be done for both the District Court and the Higher Courts at the same time, and given that the changes to the fee structure in the District Court will take a number of months to complete, the restoration cannot take place before 1 July 2026”.
8. Officials from the Department subsequently met with the Law Society on 22 January 2026. During the course of that meeting, those officials discussed with the Law Society a proposal to replace the existing regime for criminal legal aid with a single payment to the accused person’s solicitor of €455, irrespective of the number of offences with which the accused was charged and irrespective of the number of court appearances by the solicitor. The Department’s officials informed the Law Society that the basis for the proposed fee of €455 was that it was equivalent to the value of four appearances under the 1965 to 2024 Regulations, plus 8%. It was agreed at the meeting that the Law Society would seek the views of selected practitioners and would communicate to the Department if there were any insurmountable obstacles to that which was proposed. The Department informed the Law Society that a detailed paper outlining the proposal would be shared with it in due course.
9. On 18 February 2026, the Minister submitted a memorandum to the Government in relation to the proposed fee of €455 described in the preceding paragraph. The memorandum noted that the Minister intended to introduce the new fee structure in light of the contents of the October 2025 Review. The memorandum further noted the Minister’s intention to implement the new system from 1 July 2026, and that in advance of that date, the Department’s officials would engage with the Law Society and a wide range of internal and external stakeholders regarding the proposal.
10. On 24 February 2026, the Department shared with the Law Society a document entitled “Simplifying Criminal Legal Aid Payment in the District Courts”. The same document was shared with the Bar of Ireland on 26 February 2026.
11. This document set out in detail the basis for the proposed introduction of a single fee of €455. It identified systemic issues with the regime for criminal legal aid then in force, set out the need for structural reform, and explained how the introduction of a single fee of €455 would simplify the administration of criminal legal aid, increase timely case resolution, introduce efficiencies for the Courts Service, An Garda Síochána and the Irish Prison Service, and achieve fair and sustainable remuneration for legal practitioners.
12. On 5 March 2026, a meeting was held with representatives of the Law Society to further discuss the fee proposal. During that meeting, the Department’s offer to discuss the proposal in detail was declined, and the Department accordingly invited written submissions. An invitation to provide submissions was also sent by the Department to the Bar of Ireland.
13. On 27 March 2026, the Law Society provided to the Department a submission document entitled “Submission on Flawed Proposals to Reform Model for Criminal Legal Aid Work in District Court”.
14. On 1 April 2026, the Department received a submission document from the Bar of Ireland.
15. Following consideration of the submissions, on 1 May 2026 the Minister wrote to the Bar of Ireland and to the Law Society to inform them that, while his intention was to introduce a flat fee in the District Court on 1 July 2026, he would welcome a meeting with both professional bodies to discuss the matter.
16. On 27 May 2026, the Minister then met with the Bar of Ireland, and on 29 May 2026 the Minister met with the Law Society. Following those meetings, on 5 June 2026 the Department received correspondence from the Bar of Ireland.
17. On 26 May 2026, the Law Society requested that, on 9 June 2026, an official of the Department would attend a meeting with all of the Law Society’s members to explain the changes to the fee structure in the District Court. Given the short notice, attendance by a suitable Departmental official was not possible. However, on 8 June 2026, the Department shared a detailed draft information guidance note and indicated that officials were available to clarify and address any queries arising at the meeting.
18. On 16 June 2026, officials from the Department then met with the Law Society.
19. On 18 June 2026, the Department received correspondence from the Director General of the Law Society.
20. Following receipt of that correspondence, and on the same day, officials of the Department met with the Law Society to further discuss the reform of the criminal legal aid scheme.
21. On 29 June 2026, the Department published a document entitled “Review and Reform Proposal of the Criminal Legal Aid fee structure for the District Court”.
22. On 29 June 2026, the Minister issued correspondence to the Director General of the Law Society outlining the engagement that had taken place since October 2025, the issues identified in the October 2025 Review, and the overall aims of the review. The Minister also pointed out that, following engagement, a number of significant changes had been made to the initial proposal. The Minister confirmed that the fee that would be payable under the revised scheme would be €520 (as distinct from the figure of €455 which had been previously referred to in Departmental documents).