A number of court cases in Waterford were adjourned last week in line with the rest of the country, as a nationwide strike by solicitors rumbles on.
Solicitors across Ireland are on strike in relation to proposed changes to the criminal legal aid system, which will see a flat fee payment of €455 to solicitors for their representation of defendants availing of legal aid, no matter how many times the case comes up in court. The change is due to be introduced from Wednesday 1 July.
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.
The Munster Express previously reported that solicitors in Waterford began to take action earlier this month, as a number of cases at a sitting of Waterford District Court on Tuesday 9 June were adjourned to a later date.
This was similarly the case last week, with a number of cases adjourned at a sitting of the District Court in Waterford before Judge Kevin Staunton last Thursday 25 June. A small number of road traffic cases involving incidents of speeding or driving without insurance were able to proceed, along with a case involving a man who committed deception via sleight of hand in a retail premises, as well as video link appearances for defendants currently in custody, two of which are accused of assault causing harm.
Solicitor Hilary Delahunty asked if one of his client’s cases could be adjourned to early September due to the industrial action, and acknowledged that the court lists could start becoming ‘chaotic.’
Judge Staunton granted his application to adjourn the case, and said in relation to the action that the court “can only bear it for a certain length of time” and “there will come a time where I don’t know what we’re going to do.”
Waterford solicitor Ken Cunningham previously told The Munster Express that the proposed reform of the criminal legal aid system isn’t ‘feasible’ or ‘sustainable.’
He said: “The impression that I’m getting is that the Department of Justice hasn’t listened and doesn’t want to listen. It’s absurd, unworkable, and has been imposed on stakeholders without a real understanding of how the system works, including consulting with main stakeholders, including us as criminal defence solicitors.”
Mr. Cunningham said District Court cases “can be much more complex than people would expect” and include matters such as theft, cases where a defendant requires a psychiatric report and could be waiting months for this to be completed, or where multiple appearances are needed when directions are awaited in a case to decide if a matter can stay in the District Court or be sent to a higher court.
He told this newspaper: “The flat fee proposal for this just isn’t feasible. It’s not sustainable, and it can be impossible for cases to be dealt with in one day if you’re doing your job correctly as a solicitor.”
President of The Law Society of Ireland Rosemarie Loftus said last week that the proposed reform 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
