Justice minister and solicitors reach agreement over legal aid

A deal between Ireland’s Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan and the Law Society of Ireland will retain a €520 flat fee for criminal legal aid cases in the District Court while allowing higher payments in specified circumstances.

The agreement, reached on Tuesday 10 November 2026 after talks between the parties, addresses two areas of disagreement: separate and distinct cases listed on the same day, and cases that can take longer to resolve. The dispute had been under way since July, with solicitors withdrawing services in protest at the new payment model.

Under the revised arrangements, the fee will rise to €780 when an accused person faces charges arising from two separate and distinct cases brought on the same day. It will increase to €1,040 where there are three or more such cases. The flat fee will also be €780 for cases involving domestic violence, children, or an accused person held in custody before trial.

The basic District Court flat-fee structure remains in place, and multiple legal aid certificates will no longer be granted for separate and distinct cases involving one accused person. The original €520 fee applied per accused person regardless of the number of charges, their relationship to one another or the number of court appearances, according to RTÉ’s account of the scheme.

O’Callaghan said the reforms introduced in July would remain. He said the model removes payments based on the number of appearances and ends the use of multiple certificates for one accused person. The minister said those measures were intended to support a more efficient and cost-effective criminal justice system.

The Law Society said the agreement dealt with its main concerns about cases heard on the same day and payment for more complicated proceedings. Its president, Martin Lawlor, welcomed what he described as constructive engagement by the Department of Justice.

The dispute had affected court work. LMFM reported that cases in the Dundalk and Trim circuit courts had been impacted by solicitors withdrawing their services. O’Callaghan said he looked forward to solicitors who had withdrawn returning to work. The Irish Times reported that the agreement cleared the way for a full resumption of work from Wednesday, 11 November.

The resolution followed a High Court ruling the previous week that described parts of the new scheme as unfair and illogical, RTÉ reported. Talks between the department and the Law Society took place after that ruling. The agreement does not remove the flat-fee approach; instead, it creates enhanced fees for defined categories while preserving the central changes to the payment model.

Information on this page is refreshed from the connected theuk.fyi services when the interactive page loads.