Mayo solicitors withdraw their services in ongoing dispute
The solicitors withdrew their services from Castlebar District Court.
Solicitors at Castlebar District Court withdrew their services today in protest at proposed reforms to criminal legal aid fees, warning the changes could push practitioners off the legal aid panel and leave vulnerable people without representation.
Cathy McDarby and Gary Mulchrone, two of the solicitors involved, said the walkout was a last resort after what they described as a failure by the Department of Justice to meaningfully engage with the profession.
Ms McDarby said the Minister was pushing through reforms without proper consultation with the Law Society or the Bar Council. She said solicitors agreed that efficiencies were needed, but warned that a unilateral cut to fees was not an efficiency.
"It is a strike at the most vulnerable people in society, because that is who we act for," she said.
Mr Mulchrone said fees have been cut steadily since 2008, falling as low as €201 from a 2008 rate of €271, with solicitors currently paid €239. He said the new proposal would cap fees in a way that penalises cases requiring multiple remand appearances, even though adjournments are frequently sought by the State rather than the defence.
"It goes against every fibre of my being to have to walk out and to have to take a stand and withdraw my professional services from the court," he said.
"We don't want to do this," Cathy McDarby added.
Both solicitors said the decision to withdraw services was taken individually rather than as a collective action, and that no draft statutory instrument, scheme or rules have yet been published by the Department.
They warned that if the reforms proceed from July 1, many solicitors are likely to leave the legal aid panel altogether, which they said would create an immediate crisis for the justice system.
Solicitors are continuing to attend custody and juvenile cases despite the action.
Both Mayo solicitors have warned that the changes will create an immediate crisis for the justice system across the country if they go ahead as planned.
They are calling for urgent dialogue between the Department and the Law Society in the coming days.
