Mayo solicitors warn TDs of “devastating” impact of new Criminal Legal Aid scheme
Lawyers say the new payment model could create a “legal desert” in Mayo
Criminal law solicitors from Mayo have met local TDs in Leinster House yesterday (Wednesday, July 15) to voice serious concerns over the new Criminal Legal Aid Scheme.
Representatives from the profession met with Paul Lawless TD, Alan Dillon TD and Rose Conway Walsh TD to discuss the flat-fee payment model introduced by the Department of Justice on July 1.
The solicitors warned the new scheme could severely impact access to justice across Mayo. They said it is already prompting lawyers to leave criminal legal aid panels, raising concerns about the availability of legal representation for vulnerable defendants, victims and the wider court system.
Cathy McDarby of McDarby Solicitors in Ballinrobe said the profession was seeing an unprecedented number of resignations from the scheme.
She cited a recent Law Society survey of 260 solicitors who had been on the Criminal Legal Aid panel in June, which found that only three were continuing to work under the new scheme.
"Solicitors are resigning from the Scheme in unprecedented numbers,” she said. “In addition to those who have resigned from the Criminal Legal Aid panel, a large number have stopped working under the new Scheme.”
A Law Society poll of 260 solicitors who were on the Criminal Legal Aid panel in June, found that just 3 were still working under the new Scheme.
Ms McDarby warned that the changes could leave Mayo facing a “legal desert”, adding that organisations including the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC), the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) and Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC) have also expressed concerns about the impact of the reforms.
“These changes will have a profoundly negative impact on access to justice and it’s not just solicitors saying this - groups [...] have all voiced concerns about the negative impact the changes will have on the justice system,” she said. “We are going to have a legal desert in Mayo at this rate.”
She argued that the flat-fee structure fails to reflect the complexity of many criminal cases, particularly those involving children or defendants with addiction or mental health issues, which often require additional meetings, court appearances and legal preparation.
“The Department has designed a structure that assumes every case is the same. It isn't,” she said.
Solicitors in Leinster House also pointed to the experience of the Civil Legal Aid system, where a similar flat-fee model in family law has contributed to shortages of solicitors in some parts of the country.
“The Department of Justice is replicating a model that has already proven to be a failure – in family law. The same approach in Civil Legal Aid (family law) drove solicitors out of this area of practice and created legal deserts,” she said. “Replicating it in criminal law will predictably produce the same exodus.”
The solicitors called on the three Mayo TDs to raise the issue directly with the Minister for Justice and to seek immediate engagement between the Department and the Law Society.
The new payment model came into effect on July 1 despite objections from the Law Society and several legal and human rights organisations.
Solicitors argue that the system could undermine the constitutional right to a fair trial by limiting the level of legal representation that can realistically be provided under a fixed fee arrangement.