Judge voices frustration over legal aid dispute

A district court judge in Mayo has expressed his frustration with the ongoing legal aid dispute.

Solicitors in the county are continuing to withdraw services over the changed legal aid system, which saw a single flat fee of €520 introduced on July 1, regardless of the number of court appearances.

Judge Alan Mitchell was sitting in Ballina, Belmullet and Achill last week.

He told Ballina District Court that he had contacted the Department of Justice to ascertain what the situation is for solicitors who were approved for legal aid before July 1.

“I contacted the Department of Justice to enquire as to what would happen in the event where people who are no longer on the legal aid panel but had assignments before July 1. I have been told in writing by the Department that the solicitors would be paid if they were on the panel,” said Judge Mitchell.

The judge said he has told solicitors in the Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ) in Dublin that in two weeks’ time there will be an expectation for them to appear if the court assigned legal aid before July 1.

“But we will see what happens at that stage. I’m not going to enforce it here. If I’m back here in October I’m not sure what I might do,” said Judge Mitchell.

He said regulations state that there is an onus on him to try and maintain the administration of justice as best as possible.

A large number of Ballina cases were adjourned to November with the judge fearing that the dispute would not be resolved before mid-October.

Judge Mitchell’s frustration was compounded at Thursday’s court sitting in Achill District Court, which saw all cases adjourned to the next sitting in November. The district court in Achill is only heard once every two months. 

The Judge took a dim view of two cases that were private matters and did not require legal aid certificates, which were adjourned as solicitors were not in court. 

“When it’s a private matter, I expect cases to be heard,” said the judge. “Solicitors cannot piggyback on the dispute for private cases. They may be out in solidarity, but I see it totally different.” 

At the three district courts last week, the Judge offered defendants a “significant reduction in fines” for guilty pleas in cases where they were unrepresented and there was not a risk of a jail term.

“A sale of the century is in operation,” he told the court in Ballina.

Judge Mitchell said he was not putting any pressure on people to enter guilty pleas but was willing to offer “significant discounts” on fines and look upon their plea favourably if possible.

At Achill District Court he quipped that “maybe the defendants are on strike” as three defendants failed to appear in court for their respective cases and suggested they may not have attended due to the ongoing strike.

“They listen to the news and see,” said Judge Mitchell.

Meanwhile, the Law Society of Ireland has said new figures from the Courts Service show a dramatic reduction in the number of criminal legal aid certificates being granted by the Ballina and Castlebar District Court offices following the introduction of the new Criminal Legal Aid Scheme in July.

In Castlebar, the number of certificates granted fell from 102 in July 2025 to one in July 2026. In Ballina, the number of certificates granted fell from 47 in July 2025 to zero in July 2026.

Gary Mulchrone, President of the Mayo Solicitors’ Bar Association, said the figures are “deeply concerning and demonstrate the scale of the reduction in criminal legal aid certificates since the new scheme came into effect".

“Solicitors in Mayo are seeing first-hand the impact that the new scheme is having on the provision of criminal legal aid, leaving many without access to justice,” he added.

The Castlebar-based solicitor said the figures should prompt an urgent review of how the scheme is operating in courts across the country.

“We would encourage the Minister and the Department of Justice to listen to the experience of practitioners on the ground and to take practical steps to ensure that access to justice is protected. The Law Society remains available to engage with the Minister and the Department of Justice on the announced review and on practical measures which could make the Scheme workable in the interim” said Mr Mulchrone.

However, there were reports in the national media last week of solicitors in other counties taking legal aid cases.

The courts in Mayo have suffered significant disruption since the strike commenced in June and there is now a danger that the upcoming Circuit Criminal Court in Castlebar in October will be impacted once again, with a major backlog of cases to be cleared from July when there were numerous adjournments due to the dispute.

• Published as part of the Courts Reporting Scheme.