The new service, which will also provide for the central collection of information about outstanding fees, will be in place by “the forthcoming legal year” and replace the Bar’s current contract with Lawserv.

The Bar Council’s decision comes days after Irish Legal News revealed that the Bar AGM voted unanimously to more closely monitor the level of unpaid fees owed to junior barristers under the District Court legal aid scheme.

The Irish Criminal Bar Association (ICBA) pushed for an amendment strengthening the Bar’s monitoring of unpaid fees, which will now be incorporated into the new in-house fee information and recovery service.