RTÉ Courts Reporter Vivienne Traynor reported on August 27, 2026 that the dispute between the Minister for Justice and criminal defence solicitors would continue into September after more than 100 Dublin solicitors agreed to extend the withdrawal of services that began in July. Our criminal defence team represents legally aided clients in the District Court every day and is directly affected by the scheme at the centre of this dispute.
Ferrys Solicitors partner Tony Collier said after the meeting: "We want to be back in the courts doing our job, representing clients who require legal aid and ensuring the administration of justice. However, we have reluctantly decided to continue our withdrawal of services into September as the Minister for Justice is refusing to engage meaningfully with us or our representative body."
Why staged payments did not settle it
After talks with the Law Society, the Minister amended the scheme to allow staged payments rather than a single payment at the end of a case. That addressed one of the cash-flow concerns Ferrys raised in June. It did not address the flat fee of €520 per client regardless of the number of appearances, which solicitors say is unworkable.
The Minister has said the old scheme, which paid just over €239 for a first appearance and almost €60 for each subsequent one, incentivised adjournments and that legal aid cases take longer than others. Ferrys' answer is that many adjournments in legal aid cases are sought by the prosecution, and that cases involving children and vulnerable clients take longer for reasons that have nothing to do with the solicitor's fee.
The cost to the State
RTÉ reported that the withdrawal led to some accused people being refused bail while unrepresented. Some were then granted bail by the High Court, which ruled their detention had been unlawful and their fundamental rights denied. Further applications followed throughout August and the State now faces substantial legal bills for costs in those cases.
Ferrys has made this point since the outset: the State saves nothing by imposing a scheme solicitors cannot work under, because the cost reappears as High Court litigation, adjournments and delay.
The judicial review
The High Court will give judgment on October 13 in a challenge by Dublin solicitor John Quinn seeking to quash the statutory instrument underpinning the scheme. His senior counsel argued the regulations were "extraordinary" in stopping District Court judges from exercising their own discretion on separate certificates for multiple charges, and that a €520 fee could not be appropriate both for a client facing one charge and for one facing many.
In September, solicitors in the dispute, Ferrys included, will not represent clients on the legal aid scheme in the District Courts or attend garda stations. Existing clients assigned before July 1 continue to be represented.