- Monday July 15th marks the second of three days of withdrawal of service this month
- Protests to take place at courthouses in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, and Castlebar
- ‘Pass the buck’ approach by Government criticised by Bar Council and causing frustration amongst its members
Criminal barristers are withdrawing service nationwide again today, in the second of three days of withdrawal this month.
Protests will take place where criminal cases were due to be heard today, at the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin, and Courthouses in Cork, Limerick, Galway, and Castlebar, Co Mayo.
The Council of The Bar of Ireland has recommended the action due to the lack of progress in establishing an independent, meaningful, time-limited and binding mechanism to determine the fees paid to criminal barristers by the Director of Public Prosecutions and under the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Scheme.
Budget 2024 saw the restoration of 10% of fees, following a withdrawal of service on October 3rd last year. However, even after this 10% was restored, the full range of FEMPI-era cuts that were applied across the public sector, continue to apply to the profession, and the unilateral breaking of the link (in 2008) to public sector pay agreements has yet to be restored.
The Council of The Bar of Ireland said its members are increasingly frustrated at the lack of engagement from Government on the matter.
Sara Phelan SC, Chair of the Council of The Bar of Ireland, said;
We are at a loss to pinpoint where the leadership is in Government on this. Leadership to take a definitive simple action and ensure the orderly administration of justice, but also leadership in terms of doing what is right so as to avoid the retraumatisation, confusion, delay and frustration for victims of crime.
Statements last week by An Taoiseach and the Minister point to a universal acknowledgement of firstly, the unfairness that continues to apply, and secondly, the fact that barristers continue to put their shoulder to the wheel to play their part in ensuring the proper administration of justice. Yet it appears that such acknowledgement is not enough to merit a clear direct communication to us, with a commitment to an independent review and full restoration of cuts and terms and conditions?
As the Minister and Government know, you can only draw from the well of goodwill for so long – something eventually has to give, and we have reached that point. Members are already voting with their feet and leaving the criminal bar. Meanwhile, others involved in the criminal justice system, such as victims of crime and accused persons, will suffer. As always, we invite the Minister and her colleagues in Government to personally meet with us to avert future possible disruption.
Chair of the Criminal State Bar Committee and incoming Chair of the Council of The Bar of Ireland, Seán Guerin SC said;
It has been acknowledged as long ago as July 2018 that the reforms and flexibilities provided by criminal law practitioners are such that they justify restoration of fees, and yet, six years later, we are still waiting.
When pilots went on strike, we heard appeals from Government for engagement on all sides to resolve the dispute. Our profession – and the users of the criminal justice system – have the same expectation of timely engagement. There has been no meaningful engagement by the Government. Instead, two Government departments – DPER and Justice – each insist that the other is responsible for resolving the issue.
The suggestion that a resolution must wait until Budget Day, is contradicted by the numerous examples of similar issues being dealt with outside of the budget day speech in the past. We very much regret having to take this action, and we especially regret the impact on victims, accused persons, witnesses, jurors and all involved in the criminal justice system. We remain ready to meet with Government to resolve this matter.
The third day of withdrawal of service by criminal law barristers will take place next Wednesday July 24.
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