LAST UPDATE | 23 Jul

THE JUSTICE MINISTER has said remuneration for criminal work has improved since he was a barrister, and defended his comments about avoiding it in the past because it ‘doesn’t pay’.

Solicitors took issue with the remarks made at an Oireachtas committee meeting, as they’re in the midst of a protracted row with the Department of Justice over the new flat fee system.

It means they will earn a flat fee regardless of how many appearances are involved in a case.

Jim O’Callaghan told RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland that he’s “not trying to be antagonistic” towards solicitors’ financial interests, but rather he is trying to improve the justice system for the public.

“When I started as a barrister 30 years ago, it was the case that criminal work wasn’t paid very well at the bar,” he said.

“That has now changed significantly, and as you can see from the criminal legal aid lists that are published for solicitors and indeed barristers, it is now a well remunerated system, and I welcome that.”

On Wednesday, solicitors in Dublin began a two-day stoppage across courts in the city and up to 200 across the country have indicated they would resign from the legal aid panel in protest.

O’Callaghan said he ‘regrets’ that there is a row, but he has no intention of reversing the reforms.

He said that while he’s “not accusing solicitors of anything”, but he wants to disincentivise adjournments.

“If it is the case that somebody is being paid on the basis of adjournments – every time a case is adjourned you get paid more – inevitably, applications for adjournments are going to increase, and people are going to not object to adjournments if they’re being applied for,” he said.

The Law Society, which represents solicitors, hasn’t asked to meet with the Department since the changes came in, O’Callaghan said.

Several meetings took place in the lead up to the changes, and O’Callaghan says he has “no difficulty” meeting again if they ask.

“It’s been presented as though I’m intransigent and won’t meet.

“I engaged with the Law Society. I met them in May.

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“My officials met them in January, March and June of this year.”

He added that he received his first request to meet with the professional body, since the introduction of the new regulations on 1 July, on Wednesday night.

“I will meet with them, I have no difficulty meeting with them, and I’m sure there are some areas in terms of where they can make points to me that I will accept and engage with,” he added.

Asked about claims the organisation had written to him in June seeking “meaningful engagement”, O’Callaghan reiterated that he has had “no communication” from the organisation about the new regulations since they were introduced.

“In fairness to me, and it’s not about me,” he added, “if they don’t ask me to meet them, it’s difficult for me to say I have to come meet them and they need to be able to say what method they want to change within the system.”

O’Callaghan said he would consider looking at the structure of the flat fee, as solicitors took issue with it only being paid at the end of a case.