Solicitors have been withdrawing their services since June in opposition to the “one accused, one fee” model for criminal legal aid that was introduced by the justice minister on 1 July. Under the new scheme solicitors will receive one fixed fee of €520 for representing a legally aided person before the District Court. Previously solicitors were paid €239.38 for a first appearance and €59.86 for each subsequent appearance.

The Law Society has called for mediation in order to resolve the dispute, but to date has not been taken up on this offer, Taoiseach Micheál Martin telling the cabinet in September that “direct engagement is always best”.

The ICCL statement is as follows.

The ICCL is increasingly concerned about the justice minister’s reluctance to engage constructively in the current dispute with solicitors and the Law Society on changes to the criminal legal aid scheme.

The criminal legal aid scheme is a vitally important piece of human rights infrastructure in Ireland as it underpins people’s right to a fair trial. It is primarily the State’s responsibility to ensure that this right is fulfilled.

To bring radical change to a system with multiple stakeholders requires starting from a solid evidence base and undertaking thorough, proactive consultation and engagement with all involved so that they are bought into the process before any decisions are made. It is patently clear that the minister did not take this approach with the criminal legal aid changes, which ICCL feels were fundamentally flawed.

We do not agree with the minister’s recent comments that the reasons for adjournments are ”largely academic”, as he has contended. Many reasons for adjournments rest with the State, be it delays in the DPP’s office and An Garda Síochána, or the need to access assessments and/or supports provided by the State. These issues require consideration and efforts should be put into resolving them as part of broad reform of criminal legal aid.

Joe O’Brien, executive director of ICCL, said: “Months into the minister’s new criminal legal aid scheme, many courts are at a standstill and some of the worst impacts are falling on vulnerable people facing criminal proceedings.

“The system is not working; there are significant individual rights implications and the backlog is growing. The current situation must be resolved urgently for the sake of people who are held in possibly unnecessary detention, people who are facing serious criminal charges without legal advice, and for victims of crimes of who are not seeing cases progress.

“The minister has said he is awaiting the decision in the High Court challenge to the new scheme, rather than engaging with the Law Society. That decision, which was due next Tuesday, has been postponed, meaning this situation persists.

“We call on the minister to engage in the mediation talks requested by the Law Society and to work towards a resolution of the ongoing dispute in the interests of access to justice. We need a criminal legal aid scheme which works for all stakeholders and importantly fulfils the State’s duty.”