The Irish Times' Mary Carolan reported on August 2, 2026 that the Minister for Justice, Jim O'Callaghan, was "under siege" as more than 200 criminal defence solicitors voted to extend their withdrawal of services into August, rejecting amendments he had proposed in a letter to the Law Society. 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.
Ferrys Solicitors partner Tony Collier was quoted on the figures the Department was using to argue the scheme was functioning. The Department said 344 legal aid certificates had issued under the new scheme up to July 28, reflecting a commitment to spend €180,000.
Mr Collier said the number of certificates issued under the new scheme in July must be considered against a total of 98,617 certificates issued in 2025, an average of more than 1,800 weekly. Solicitors also pointed out that the 344 includes certificates assigned by judges to solicitors who had not requested them and had not taken them up.
The effective fee
The Irish Times set out the calculation at the centre of Ferrys' objection. The €520 flat fee replaces €239 for a first appearance and about €60 for each subsequent one. If a case requires 10 remand appearances, the effective fee is €52 per appearance, falling to €26 after 20. Ferrys' clients under legal aid frequently have addiction, mental health and other issues and routinely face multiple separate prosecutions at a single sitting.
The High Court decision
On July 29 the High Court found that the constitutional rights of 11 defendants had been breached because they did not have access to legal representation when refused bail in the District Court. Similar applications had been initiated. Ferrys has warned since June that unrepresented bail hearings would produce exactly this outcome.
The judicial review of the statutory instrument underpinning the scheme, brought by solicitor John Quinn, concluded on July 31 with judgment due in October.
Who is affected in August
The extension particularly affects people in garda detention and those appearing at special and emergency District Court sittings during the recess. Gardaí have told judges of contacting up to 40 solicitors without success. Among those who may need a solicitor during the closure is Daniel Kinahan, facing extradition from Dubai, a case Ferrys wrote about earlier this year in the context of the Ireland-UAE treaty.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission said access to legal representation was "fundamental to the right to a fair trial" and expressed particular concern for people experiencing poverty, homelessness, disability, addiction and mental health difficulties, the very clients Ferrys represents under legal aid.
The Minister said his Department had been engaging since October 2025 and that the review underpinning the scheme showed spending almost doubling to €37 million by 2024. The Law Society is believed to have written to him setting out what solicitors require to reach a resolution.