Defence lawyers protest at courthouses throughout Ireland

Barristers practising in the District Court are paid €25.20 for a remand hearing, €50.40 for a plea in mitigation at a sentence hearing and €67 for a full trial hearing.

One of the organisers of the protest, Darren Lalor BL, said: “The criminal justice system at District Court level is on its knees. When your legal professional is paid less than the cost of a household plant to attend court, it is obvious there is a problem.

“Many agree that something must be done – yet no one wants to do it. Populism is the veil that covers up the issues spinning the illusion that everything is ok at the top. I can’t fall any further.”

William Morrin BL practises outside of the Law Library and refuses to accept briefs under the criminal legal aid scheme.

“I have had to leave the Law Library because of poor representation received from the Bar Council. While still practising as a barrister, I could no longer justify the Law Library fees. Junior members of the Law Library are not given adequate help and support. They are not what the Bar Council recognise as talent,” he said.

Aine Holt BL was called to the Bar in 2022 and is at the end of her pupillage.

She said: “The truth, there are barristers working in the criminal courts today who will not be there in October. The whole truth, the “payment system” operating in the District Court does not pay properly. Nothing but the truth, this has the potential to collapse the criminal justice system unless addressed immediately.”

The protest, entitled “A Celebration of Failure 2”, was supported by a number of senior barristers who do not practise in the District Court.

Luigi Rea BL, a criminal defence barrister, commented: “Prosecution and legal aid defence fees are anchored to 2002 rates. Cuts made long ago have not been unwound despite economic recovery for some, alongside roaring and corrosive inflation for all. How can it be that a DOPE[1] unit overruled two previous Ministers for Justice as to what fees should be paid to lawyers in serious criminal trials affecting victims of crime and those wrongly accused.”

Pieter Le Vert BL, a prosecution and defence barrister, added: “Any system which is systematically deprived of the resources it needs will eventually crumble. The people who work within those systems- gardai, prison officers, barristers, solicitors, teachers, medical professionals, and members of the defence forces- all know this, because they feel it firsthand. If you don’t work within those systems, you can still see the impact of that failure to provide resources all around us every day. The criminal justice system is now heading for serious trouble. Two thirds of barristers who elect to work in the criminal justice system leave within six years. A large portion of those that leave do so due to the unsustainable fees being paid. Should this continue, the administration of justice in this country will most certainly be put at risk, to the detriment of all.”

Feargal Kavanagh SC practises in the higher courts.

He said: “There is a strong public interest to be served in a properly funded criminal defence system. The criminal legal aid system is not just about representing those who cannot afford to pay – it is about ensuring a fair, reliable, and effective system as required by law for identifying wrongdoers and upholding the rights of victims. The State is obliged to provide ‘effective’ legal aid to all those who qualify.

“The present rate of fees under the scheme were set in 2002 or thereabouts. To expect that the absence of any increase in rates since would not result in the undermining of the operation of the criminal law system is at best ignorant. A full review of the scheme is long overdue. Talented young barristers are being forced to leave the practice of criminal law as it is no longer a financially viable career path. In my view it is well past the time for barristers practicing criminal law to individually demonstrate that the scheme cannot operate without them and that without it the operation of the criminal courts is impossible.”

Michael O’Higgins SC remarked: “Lawyers working in the District Court are providing a very important public service: this includes holding the authorities to account and upholding human and civil rights. This is part of the work at all levels in the criminal justice system. It is essential that this work be funded properly at all levels.”