Legal Aid
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-16
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Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South

Every Friday I see the list coming in. It is happening across the country that the criminal legal aid system is operating within the District Courts. I appreciate there is an issue in respect of Dublin.
The Deputy said that I might not receive political benefit in this. There is no political benefit in this for me by having a row with solicitors. I do not want to have a row with solicitors. I want to have an effective criminal justice system operating and I want to do something more about civil legal aid as well. I am sure Deputy Carthy will keep me to account in respect of that. The only reason I am introducing this new model is that I genuinely believe that this is going to improve efficiency within the court. If we look at the data we have at present, we see that 75% of the cases that have concluded since 1 July concluded within one day. So there is a huge advantage in having a flat fee, which is a generous flat fee of €520. When somebody is before the courts and it can be dealt with promptly, let us deal with it promptly.
I have engaged with The Law Society. I very much respect the work it does. I sent a letter to its president yesterday. I will continue to engage with them and I have said in respect-----

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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