Judge Tom Burgess was appointed a year ago to carry out a “fundamental review” of the criminal legal aid system, which was warmly welcomed by practitioners at the time. His finished report was handed to the DoJ in August but has not been published.

The Bar of Northern Ireland has now warned the DoJ that the goodwill of the profession has been “exhausted” and has called for the report to be published “within days”.

Bar chair Donal Lunny KC said: “The Bar of Northern Ireland worked in good faith and on a constructive basis with His Honour Judge Tom Burgess across the review period. And it was our experience that Judge Burgess conducted the review in a spirit of inclusivity and collaboration, applying his deep knowledge of Northern Ireland’s criminal justice system.

“Despite the Department receiving the review findings and recommendations from Judge Burgess in August 2024 and one year since its commencement, the Department has refused to publish the Burgess review, is unable to provide a deadline for doing so, and has failed to engage on any aspect of the review outcomes or recommendations.

“Understandably, this is a source of deep frustration and intense dissatisfaction for barristers practising at the criminal bar who, along with our solicitor colleagues, are an integral component of the criminal justice system.”

He warned that Northern Ireland’s criminal justice system is “reaching a crisis point, not least because lawyers are expected to work for legal aid rates which have, when adjusted for inflation, plummeted by between 47 per cent and 58 per cent since 2005”.

“Additionally, and significantly, barristers continue to struggle under the financial pressure of the Department’s policy of applying delays to payments owed to practitioners for legally aided work,” he added.

“Payment delays were on a trajectory to reach 24 weeks last year, making legally aided work financially non-viable for many barristers, particularly younger and female barristers, driving skilled experts into other practice areas and often driving them out of the Independent Referral Bar altogether.”

The Bar has pointed out that the Ministry of Justice adopted a more “transparent approach” to the Bellamy report, which concerned criminal legal aid in England and Wales, and the Scottish government published the Roberton report on the regulation of the legal professions within a day of receipt.

Mr Lunny said: “One year on from the commencement of the Burgess review the message of the Bar of Northern Ireland is clear and delivered with urgency: the system of criminal legal aid provision is reaching a crisis point. The goodwill of the profession, which appears to have been taken for granted by the Department, is exhausted.

“The Department must now adopt a transparent approach, publish the Burgess report within days, and begin to work with the legal professions and other stakeholders on a sustainable way forward — a way forward that protects assess to justice for all citizens and ensures that criminal legal aid, which is both an essential part of the welfare state and essential to ensure the rule of law, is fit for purpose.”

The Department of Justice has been contacted for comment.