LAWYERS ON THE criminal legal aid panel in dispute with the Department of Justice have sustained a cumulative €6.64 million hit to their income in criminal legal aid payments in July and August.

Figures provided by Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan show for the first time the financial impact on lawyers currently in dispute with the Department of Justice over a new flat €520 fee for criminal legal aid cases in the district court.

A partial withdrawal of services by solicitors took effect from mid-June and escalated to a near-blanket withdrawal from 1 July, save for custody cases and protocol cases, when the new payment model came into operation.

The action has led to the adjournment of thousands of criminal cases, with lawyers telling senior judges this week that the dispute is set to continue into October when the new legal year commences.

Now, O’Callaghan has confirmed in a written Dáil reply to Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly that the €12.5 million paid out in criminal legal aid payments to lawyers for July and August across the courts is €6.64 million down on the €19.15 million paid out for the corresponding two-month period in 2025.

The figures provided by O’Callaghan show that solicitors have received €6.47 million in July and August of this year compared to €9.63 million in 2025 – a reduction of €3.16 million over the two months.

The figures for July of this year show solicitors received €4.35 million compared to €6.33 million for July 2025 – a drop of €1.98 million – while for August solicitors received €2.1m compared to €3.3 million for August 2025 – a drop of €1.2 million.

As solicitors in dispute are not instructing barristers in criminal cases before the courts, the dispute is also having a significant financial impact on criminal legal aid panel barristers.

The detailed figures show barristers for July and August this year received €6.02 million through the criminal legal aid scheme compared to €9.5 million for the same two months in 2025 – a drop of €3.48 million.

O’Callaghan confirmed that barristers received €4.36 million in criminal legal aid payments for July compared to €6.33 million for July 2025 – a drop of €1.97 million while for August barristers received €1.65 million compared to €3.17 million for August 2025 – a decline of €1.97 million.

Dublin-based solicitor, Michael Hennessy was the best paid solicitor on the legal aid panel last year when he received €971,155 (including VAT at 23%).

Hennessy is continuing his withdrawal of services in protest at the new fee structure. He said: “The new criminal legal aid structure falls dramatically short of what is required to conserve a robust criminal justice system.

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“What we have now is a framework in a state of complete chassis with unintended consequences coming to pass. The vastly overwhelming majority of Dublin based firms remain individually steadfast in their opposition to what are fundamental unfairness in the scheme.”

Hennessy said: “Defence solicitors want resolution of the impasse and to get back to work because they are committed to the job and to their clients, most of whom are on the margins of society.

“Solicitors’ objections to the scheme are based on principle and not principal; a democracy cannot be said to be functioning in the absence of a working criminal justice process.”

The impact on the court has already been highlighted by Courts Service data showing that the number of legal aid certificates granted has collapsed in July compared to July 2025 – down 93% from 10,277 to just 702 in July 2026.