O’Callaghan wants flat fee for criminal legal aid
The Minister for Justice has announced plans to change the payment structure for criminal legal aid in the District Court by introducing a flat fee.
Minister O’Callaghan said that the proposed changes would lead to “a more efficient system”.
He said that the plans would fulfil pledges to reform criminal legal aid and restore fees, adding that restoration of fees would start from 1 July.
The Department of Justice said that engagement with the Law Society, which has been pressing for full restoration of fees, and relevant stakeholders would continue in advance of the July implementation date.
Appearances
Under the plans, one flat fee would be paid for representation from beginning to end of a case.
The department said that this would remove the link between payments and the number of appearances, or legal-aid certificates granted.
The minister said that the proposals aimed to address “structural issues” identified during a departmental review of more than 350,000 District Court cases that took place during 2022 and 2023, citing in particular “unnecessary adjournments resulting from the payment-per-appearance model”.
‘More efficient system’
He said that the flat fee would be payable regardless of the number of appearances, multiple certificates for cases heard together, or number of accused represented.
“This reform will lead to a more efficient system by reducing unnecessary adjournments. It will also simplify the administration of criminal legal aid, resolve cases sooner, and ensure practitioners are remunerated fairly,” the minister stated.
The department said that, while the volume of criminal cases in the District Court had fallen, spending on criminal legal aid had gone from €19 million in 2015 to €37 million in 2024.