Following unprecedented strike action by criminal barristers recently over the failure by the government to reverse longstanding pay issues, the recent budget contained a measure to overturn the 10% cuts to legal aid fees.
There were many people across Ireland who were eagerly anticipating the unveiling of Budget 2024 to see what it might hold in store for them, among them were many criminal law barristers who on October 3rd made history by going on strike for the first time.
The strike described as a “withdrawal of services” by Chair of the Bar Council Sara Phelan SC came off the back of years of frustration in the criminal practice surrounding fees for representing clients entitled to free legal aid. The fees were cut during the financial crisis alongside many other public sector payment schemes and despite a government review in 2018 acknowledging that a reversal of these cuts was justified the issue lay unresolved.
The withdrawal of services happened nationwide with Courts all over the country falling unusually quiet as criminal cases ceased to move forward. To raise awareness of the dispute barristers stood outside courthouses behind boxes marked with slogans.
The profession has long been known for how difficult it is to become established in and this was illustrated in particular with the campaign’s claim that “two-thirds of criminal barristers leave practice after only 6 years” which featured through the picket lines. The high turnover rate of criminal barristers has meant that there is an experience shortage threatening to emerge in the criminal side of the justice system.
This has been described as a “threat to the integrity of the criminal justice system” by Seán Guerin the Chair of the Criminal State Bar Committee. The integrity of the justice system relies on cases being prosecuted effectively and accused parties being defended sufficiently well enough to ensure they are proven innocent if they are indeed so.
On October 10th, a week after the withdrawal of services Budget 2024 was announced containing a funding package which will serve to reverse the fee cuts, the money is part of funding obtained by the Department of Justice led by Minister Helen McEntee who has previously articulated her support for the requested financial measure.
The reversal was described as a “step in the right direction” by the Bar Council and is being paid for by an allocation of €9 million. The Department of Justice also remarked that funding in the area of legal aid would be the subject of further discussion indicating that it would engage with the respective legal stakeholders going forward.
Stéphane De Bairéad – Law Writer