Talks aimed at ending a bitter dispute that has disrupted Ireland’s criminal courts for months got under way on Friday, as judges warn that victims and accused people alike are paying the price.
Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan and a Law Society delegation led by its president, Rosemarie Loftus, met on Wednesday morning for their first direct meeting since 31 July. Both sides agreed on the need to find a resolution “without delay”, and set out a short, focused round of structured talks between officials and representatives beginning on Friday 30 October and running into next week.
What the row is about
At the heart of the dispute is a new criminal legal aid scheme introduced this year. Under the old system, a solicitor was paid €240 for a first court appearance with a legal aid client and €60 for each subsequent appearance. The new scheme pays a flat fee of €520 per accused person for a case concluded within up to five appearances. The Department of Justice says the fee was designed to match the old average and includes an 8% increase, and that the reform is intended to speed up the resolution of cases and improve how the District Court runs.
Many criminal defence solicitors rejected the model and withdrew their services, a protest RTÉ reports has now lasted four months, with Dublin especially badly hit.
The Law Society says two changes would resolve its members’ key concerns: an additional payment for complicated cases that go beyond ten court appearances, and separate payments for separate offences committed on different dates, capped at five per client, per court, per day.
‘A casualty’ of the dispute
The human cost was laid bare at the Central Criminal Court on Monday. Mr Justice Paul McDermott heard that a rape trial listed for the previous week could not proceed because the defence solicitor did not attend, owing to the dispute. Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions said the complainant, who alleges she was abused as a child more than 20 years ago, was extremely distressed by the adjournment. The judge described her as a casualty of the prolonged dispute. The earliest available new trial date is in February.
TheJournal reported that four sexual offence cases could not go ahead that day because solicitors were absent, and the judge warned against raising false hopes that the row would be settled in time for a retrial listed for 9 November. In a separate list at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Martin Nolan adjourned all ten sentencing matters before him, almost entirely because solicitors had withdrawn.
The dispute has also had knock-on effects on custody: TheJournal reported that some accused people have been released after bail hearings were found to be flawed because they had no legal representation.
Political pressure
The row has become increasingly heated. Last week Mr O’Callaghan suggested rape cases had been deliberately targeted by the withdrawal of services, a claim TheJournal’s FactCheck team found to be misleading. Taoiseach Micheál Martin said on Wednesday he hoped progress had been made and that the two sides were on a pathway to resolution.
The Department says it is prepared to look at adjustments within the scheme, while keeping its core aim of faster case resolution. The Law Society says it remains committed to working constructively with the Minister.
What happens next
The structured talks that began on Friday are due to continue over the coming week. Neither side has given a public update on Friday’s session. If a deal is reached on the two issues the Law Society has identified, solicitors could return to the courts relatively quickly, although clearing the backlog of adjourned trials and sentencing hearings is likely to take months.
Complainants and accused people whose cases have been put back should keep in contact with their solicitor, the gardaí or the Office of the DPP for updates on new dates. Victims of crime can also contact the Crime Victims Helpline on 116 006.
Sources
- RTÉ News: Minister, solicitors to hold more talks in legal aid row (28 October 2026)
- Irish Examiner: O’Callaghan and Law Society to begin ‘time-bound engagement’ on legal aid dispute (28 October 2026)
- TheJournal.ie: Justice minister to meet with Law Society about solicitor strike for the first time since July (28 October 2026)
- TheJournal.ie: Woman was ‘extremely distressed’ after legal aid dispute stopped rape trial proceeding, court hears (27 October 2026)
Featured image: Criminal Courts of Justice, Dublin in 2019 by Metro Centric, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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