Rosemarie Loftus

The Oireachtas Justice Committee’s Report, published yesterday, highlights how vulnerable people, including victims of domestic violence, are struggling to secure legal representation. It also calls out retention challenges due to low rates of pay for legal practitioners.

The report contains 30 recommendations, a number of which endorse proposals put forward by the Law Society. It follows the publication, by the independent review group, chaired by former Chief Justice Mr Frank Clarke SC, of both a majority and minority report on the Civil Legal Aid Scheme in Ireland.

Rosemarie Loftus, president of the Law Society of Ireland, said: “Decades of neglect and underfunding have left Ireland’s Civil Legal Aid Scheme a mere shadow of what it should be. This results in people being denied access to justice on a daily basis. The Civil Legal Aid Scheme is in crisis and in need of immediate reform. 

“People are waiting too long for legal assistance. There are only a small handful of solicitors in Dublin who will accept a family law case under the Scheme and this pattern is repeated across the country. Practitioners are leaving the Private Practitioner Scheme, and the Legal Aid Board is being asked to do more with insufficient resources. Legal deserts are already a reality in parts of the country.

“We welcome the Justice Committee’s recognition that meaningful reform must be built around a stronger, better resourced Legal Aid Board. The Law Society echoes the Justice Committee’s call for a coherent, phased, and sustainable approach to reform. The Report sets out a roadmap for implementation of reform, including the expansion of system capacity, the modernisation of eligibility and allowances, and the extension of scope and functions of the Civil Legal Aid Scheme.

“The Law Society reiterates our longstanding call for immediate investment and sustainable resourcing of the Legal Aid Board. Action is now needed to restore capacity to Civil Legal Aid and to future-proof this vital service.

“We look forward to continuing to work constructively with Government, the Legal Aid Board, the Joint Committee and other stakeholders to help deliver the reform that is clearly needed.”

Chair of the Council of The Bar of Ireland, Seán Guerin SC, said: “We welcome the attention given to this important matter by the committee. The civil legal aid system has been under significant strain for many years, and this has very negatively impacted access to justice for vulnerable people all over the country.”

“We particularly welcome the recognition and recommendation by the committee that the thresholds for eligibility should be reviewed, and that they should also be index linked.

“We also welcome the recommendation that the Private Practitioner Scheme (PPS) must be funded adequately in order to safeguard its long-term viability and that the salaries and fees of solicitors, barristers and independent experts be reviewed urgently to ensure that rates are adequate to retain practitioners needed to ensure access to Civil Legal Aid for those who need it. These must also be index linked to ensure long term viability.

“The issues in the Civil Legal Aid system have led to experienced practitioners leaving the scheme. This, together with a significant increase in demand for the service, has resulted in unsustainable and unjust waiting times nationwide. The reasons for this are well known – the work is increasingly complex, and the current reduced fee rate and static structure makes it unviable.

“This issue was identified in the Clarke Review Report published a year ago as needing to be addressed urgently. A year has now passed without any substantive proposals having been published. The Bar of Ireland welcomes the Minister’s recent statement to the Joint Committee that he intends to do so in Budget 2027.”