Criminal courts face shutdown as legal aid solicitors extend withdrawal of services to three days next week

The criminal courts face a possible total shutdown over two days this week, and three days next week, as the bitter dispute over a new criminal legal aid payments model for the District Courts escalates.About 70 criminal legal aid solicitors, who met on Tuesday in the Courts of Criminal Justice in Dublin, resolved to extend a near total withdrawal of their services, set for tomorrow and Thursday, to three days next week.That could lead to more disruption of criminal court lists, already affected by thousands of adjournments. The solicitors are furious the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan has not agreed to their call for “meaningful” engagement with the Law Society, the solicitors’ representative body, over the new payment model.READ MORESolicitor Tony Collier, of Ferrys Solicitors, said on Tuesday he expected the withdrawal of criminal defence solicitors from criminal cases in Dublin this and next week will be mirrored in many courts across the country.Criminal defence solicitors began withdrawing services last month over strong opposition to a new legal aid fees payment model proposed by the Department of Justice and operational since July 1st. It introduced one flat fee of €520 per case, irrespective of the number of court appearances, replacing the previous model of €239.38 for a first appearance and €59.86 for each subsequent appearance. The withdrawal of services has intensified since July 1st.The minister has said the old payment model was vulnerable to abuse and encouraged unnecessary adjournments. The new model was devised following an internal review by his department that noted spending on criminal legal aid almost doubled from €19 million in 2015 to €37 million in 2024, despite a fall in the volume of cases.The Law Society has described the review as flawed and the new payment model as “unworkable” and has sought “meaningful” engagement with the department about pay and criminal legal aid reform.