Mayo solicitors defend strike action after judge's criticism

Solicitors in Mayo have defended their ongoing strike action after a judge accused them of being "discourteous" and "totally disrespectful".

Judge Vincent Deane made his remarks at a sitting of Castlebar District Court on Wednesday last after solicitors again withdrew their services as part of the dispute with the Department of Justice over the new legal aid scheme.

Judge Deane said he expects solicitors to inform the court if they are refusing to represent clients who are not on legal aid.

"At the very least they are being discourteous to the court by not explaining why they are not appearing for their clients who they are contracted with," he said.

The judge also said he travels to other courts around the country and that this practice only takes place in Castlebar.

"I don't know why Castlebar has to be treated differently. I'm a movable judge and I go to courts around the country. In cases not involving legal aid, at least if they don't want to go ahead with a case they come in and have the courtesy of letting the judge know.

"The idea of solicitors not turning up in court in cases where they are privately retained is totally disrespectful to the court.

"Irrespective of what their dispute is with the Minister they should not show disrespect to the court," he said, before telling the defendant to make sure his solicitor is in court on the next date or "else get a new solicitor".

A number of defendants who are not on legal aid appeared before the judge and informed the court that their solicitor would not be attending while the dispute continues.

In one exchange, a defendant told the judge that his solicitor had agreed with gardaí to adjourn his case to a later date.

Judge Deane said this behaviour was not acceptable.

"You might inform your solicitor that it is unacceptable that an arrangement is made between themselves and the Gardaí and no courtesy given to the court to explain why they are not involved or why they are not here," he said.

In another case, the judge told a defendant that he is paying for a solicitor and they should be coming into court. He added that he will have to stop adjourning cases indefinitely.

"I cannot let the matter just go on where people are coming before the court and their solicitor doesn't come to court or give any explanation. I can't just keep adjourning them. They are showing no respect to the court to at least explain their situation."

During the sitting, Judge Deane made a number of comments that he expects solicitors who are retained privately to represent their clients, as it has nothing to do with the legal aid dispute.

Since the dispute began at the start of July, cases have been continuously adjourned as solicitors refuse to attend court to represent clients, whether they are privately retained or on the legal aid scheme. This has led to a backlog of cases in both the district and circuit courts, with a number of cases from Wednesday's sitting pushed back to dates in January and February.

In a statement issued to the Western People on Monday afternoon, the Mayo Solicitors Bar Association said it "acknowledges that the withdrawal of legal services for clients accused of criminal offences in the District Court has been very challenging". However, it refuted Judge Deane's assertion that its members were failing to represent private clients despite being paid.

"It is incorrect to assert that solicitors are being ‘privately paid’ and then refusing to appear in court. No solicitor is charging a client for any court appearance where the solicitor is not present. Solicitors have individually decided to withdraw from all cases whether they attract legal aid or not, other than those where people are in custody prior to 1st July, 2026. 

"In our view, it would not be appropriate to treat those who can afford to pay for legal representation better or by different standards to those who cannot pay. This position was communicated some time ago in writing to the District Court office for the attention of all judges sitting in our district. It is not the case that any discourtesy or disrespect to the court was intended. Mayo solicitors have a long and distinguished history of the highest quality of legal advice and advocacy in the District Court and that will never change.

"This recent disruptive period has been very difficult on local practices which employ local people and support local jobs. Indeed, it has been very difficult for all stakeholders, including victims, accused persons, the judiciary, Courts Service staff and others. All those affected have endured a very challenging four-month period. It is the last thing any solicitor in Mayo wants to see, but where fundamental changes have been made without proper consultation and a system is unviable and unworkable, this needs to be clearly stated. This association repeats its call for the Minister for Justice to acknowledge the reality that the courts are not operating effectively and to commit to a genuine engagement with the Law Society to resolve the dispute. This can and should be done quickly to avoid hardship and stress for all concerned."

• Published as part of the Courts Reporting Scheme.