The introduction of a flat-fee system for legal aid representation will effectively dismantle a system which, while not perfect in many respects, functions well when it comes to safeguarding the right to effective legal representation and the right to a fair trial, according to Social Democrats justice spokesperson Gary Gannon.<\/p>\n
Deputy Gannon said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe system is most certainly in need of reform, but the flat fee – no matter how much work or how many appearances might be involved in a case – will be a disastrous development for a central pillar of our legal system.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not hard to see that many solicitors will look at this reform and decide that it is not economically viable for them to take on a case that will need to be managed over a period of 8 or 12 months, with multiple adjournments, at the cost of one fee.<\/p>\n
\u201cIts introduction could lead to a major exodus of solicitors from the legal aid scheme and pose a real threat to people\u2019s ability to get legal representation. We should be reforming the scheme, not decimating it.<\/p>\n
\u201cMultiple adjournments in a case are often unavoidable and caused by the State, not by solicitors. The Director of Public Prosecutions not having charges ready, Garda\u00ed not being available to give evidence, delays in analysis, and lengthy court lists are all frequent causes of adjournments.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are, of course, abuses of the existing system, but that does not mean it should be abandoned – abuses should instead be tackled, and any firms or solicitors engaging in this abuse should be removed from the legal aid scheme.<\/p>\n
\u201cCriminal court proceedings are already facing disruption this week after solicitors withdrew their legal aid services in protest of the Department of Justice\u2019s plan to introduce a flat-fee system next month.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe three day withdrawal of service from today will affect criminal legal aid cases, except custody cases, in the District, Circuit Courts, Central Criminal and Special Criminal Courts, and the Court of Appeal. This will cause bedlam in our legal system.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is hard to fathom why the shortcomings of the current system are not being rectified, rather than embarking on this experimental and high-risk approach. The implementation of reforms and the drive for efficiency must not come at the cost of diminishing, to any degree, the right to effective legal representation and the right to a fair trial.\u201d<\/p>\n
June 17th, 2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The introduction of a flat-fee system for legal aid representation will effectively dismantle a system which, while not perfect in many respects, functions well when it comes to safeguarding the right to effective legal representation and the right to a fair trial, according to Social Democrats justice spokesperson Gary Gannon. Deputy Gannon said: \u201cThe system […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":15081,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[502,316,411,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","category-gary-gannon","category-justice","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n