Several cases at court sittings in Waterford were adjourned last week, as a strike by solicitors across the country continues.
Solicitors throughout Ireland are on strike in relation to a change to the criminal legal aid system, which began last Wednesday 1 July. The change, introduced by Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan, means that solicitors will now be paid a single flat-fee of €520 for their representation of defendants availing of legal aid, no matter how many times the case comes up in court.
This figure was increased last week by Minister O’Callaghan, as it was originally proposed that solicitors would receive a flat-fee of €455. Previously, solicitors were paid per each court appearance, starting at €239.38 for the first time the case is mentioned, and €59.86 for each subsequent appearance.
A number of cases where the accused person is on bail have been adjourned at all levels including District, Circuit Criminal and Central Criminal Courts throughout Ireland. Cases involving juvenile defendants or where an accused person is already in custody have largely been able to proceed.
At a sitting of Waterford District Court last week, a total of 218 cases were listed. The majority of these matters were put back to dates in late September and early October due to the strike action. Two cases where defendants are already in custody were able to proceed, and they were served separate books of evidence and sent forward for trial to the Circuit Criminal Court.
One defendant was listed for the court to receive a receipt of a poor box donation, and Judge John Cheatle said he would not process it in line with the industrial action as he did not want to “cross the picket line.”
This was similarly the case at a sitting of Dungarvan District Court on Monday 6 July. A total of 77 cases were listed, and several of these were adjourned to dates in September, October, and November 2026. Judge John O’Leary said he hopes the “strike will be resolved by then” and told solicitors that their clients can be excused from attending court if the action is still continuing.
Judge O’Leary added that the cases were not being adjourned “willy-nilly” but that it is due to the “impossible situation” that the court has found itself in. He told the court that he could not comment further as it is a “political matter.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Justice told The Munster Express: “Minister O'Callaghan signed regulations on Monday 29 June setting the fees for criminal legal aid in the District and Higher Courts. The Regulations provide for an 8% increase in criminal legal aid fees payable to solicitors and barristers in the Circuit Court and higher courts from 1 July 2026. This is a total restoration of the criminal legal aid fees cut under FEMPI. (Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest).
“The Minister has also introduced a fee of €520 for District Court criminal cases under the criminal legal aid scheme. This figure is equivalent to the fees previously paid for five appearances in the District Court plus an 8% increase.
“The objective of the revised fee structure is to make the system more effective and efficient while ensuring that those accused of crimes are provided with the legal representation to which they are constitutionally entitled.”
While it had been reported in the media that some solicitors were understood to have formally resigned from the Legal Aid panel, this was not the case as of last week.
The spokesperson said: “Contrary to media reports, as of the morning of 2 July 2026, no solicitor has formally resigned or withdrawn their name from the Criminal Legal Aid Panel. Four solicitors wrote to the Department of Justice indicating they would be seeking to withdraw from the panel. There are currently over 800 solicitors on the criminal legal aid panel.
“In considering the need for reform, it is important to note that, while criminal case volumes in the District Court have decreased, expenditure on criminal legal aid in the District Court has nearly doubled, from €19 million in 2015 to €41 million in 2025.
“The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration reviewed more than 350,000 District Court cases which took place during 2022 and 2023. The reform of the criminal legal aid fee structure in the District Court will not affect the ability of legal professionals to engage in criminal legal aid work. It is regrettable that some criminal practitioners appear to have withdrawn their services,” the spokesperson concluded.
President of The Law Society of Ireland Rosemarie Loftus said in relation to the reform that it could leave “the most vulnerable in our society without access to legal representation” as the flat fee proposal would render criminal legal aid practice “financially unsustainable for many solicitors, triggering an exodus from the scheme.”
Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme
Robyn Power
