The Irish Independent reported on July 26, 2026 that legal aid solicitors in Dublin opposed to the withdrawal of services said some junior barristers had been told they would be "blacklisted" by firms if they continued to support the Minister for Justice's new legal aid scheme. Our criminal defence solicitors act for clients in the District Court, Circuit Court and Central Criminal Court, much of it under the criminal legal aid scheme.
The report reflected a division within the profession. The majority of criminal defence solicitors in Dublin, Cork and elsewhere had withdrawn services since June and had staged near-total shutdowns of the criminal courts in the preceding two weeks. A smaller number continued to work under the new scheme.
Ferrys' position
Ferrys Solicitors, through partner Tony Collier, has been the public voice of the Dublin solicitors' group throughout the dispute. The firm's stated purpose for the withdrawal has been consistent and narrow: to encourage the Minister to engage fully with the Law Society, the solicitors' representative body, on a workable scheme.
Mr Collier has said the action was taken with "great regret", that every solicitor would prefer to be in court representing clients, and that the solicitors and the Law Society are available at any time to meet and work towards agreement.
Ferrys has not commented on the specific claims in the Independent's report. The firm's relationships with counsel are longstanding and based on the interests of clients.
Why solicitors and barristers are differently placed
The scheme introduced on July 1 changes how solicitors are paid in the District Court: a flat €520 per client regardless of charges or appearances, in place of €239.38 for a first appearance and €59.86 for each subsequent one. Barristers' fees under the criminal legal aid scheme were not the subject of the change, which is why the withdrawal has been led by solicitors.
The broader picture
By late July, more than 200 solicitors had resigned from the panel, thousands of cases had been adjourned and the High Court was hearing applications from accused people refused bail without representation. Ferrys' concern remained that the longer the dispute went on, the greater the backlog and the more people would be left without a lawyer.