Legal Aid
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-16
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Matt Carthy (SF), Cavan-Monaghan

-----of the State. I apologise, I meant the civil legal aid scheme, which saw a 60% reduction that has been attributed to the fee model that was applied there. The Minister has repeatedly stated that he has a responsibility to address the excessive adjournments, and I agree with that.
However, he follows it by saying the excessive adjournments resulting from the pay structure. Yet, he has provided zero evidence that it is actually solicitors or their want to get additional payments that is actually the cause of a significant minority, never mind a majority, of the adjournments
I appeal to the Minister in the strongest possible terms. I know there is a political benefit for him in this in terms of being seen to face down solicitors.
They probably have about as much sympathy among the public as politicians, and I think they will accept that. They carry out a critically important piece of work. Let us forget about solicitors, however, because people who are seeking access to justice, including victims, need to be assured that our court services are operating. Right now, they are not. It is the Minister's imperative, in my view, to engage with the stakeholders and engage constructively to bring this matter to a resolution as speedily as possible.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-16/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-16