asked the Minister for Justice if he will make a statement on the circumstances in which members of the Bar have withdrawn from the legal aid scheme; if any barristers are now available on the legal aid panel to represent indigent accused persons; and the extent to which the disposal of criminal business is being affected.
Written Answers. - Legal Aid Scheme.
105.
The circumstances, briefly, are that the Bar Council submitted a memorandum to me in February of this year containing proposals about the legal aid scheme which, if implemented, would require substantial changes in existing legislation and would add considerably to the cost of providing criminal legal aid. In March, I met representatives of the Bar Council to discuss the memorandum and indicated that I would consider their proposals. The council informed me, on 21st March, that as I had not expressed a commitment to accept their proposals, they had decided to propose a motion to a general meeting of the Bar that the Bar should withdraw from the current legal aid scheme. The date eventually fixed for withdrawal was 28th May. There are now only four barristers on the legal aid panel.
On 16th April I met representatives of the Incorporated Law Society to discuss the working of the legal aid scheme and they proposed the setting up of a group representative of the interests concerned to examine points of difficulty in the working of the scheme. I put this idea to the Bar Council on 18th April and on 27th April they replied saying that they would participate, but had already decided to withdraw from the scheme.
On 18th June, I set up a committee to review the operation of the criminal legal aid scheme and to make recommendations as to the manner in which the scheme might be improved. The Bar Council have two representatives on this committee.
It is not possible, at this stage, to say exactly the extent to which the disposal of criminal business is being affected, but, already, criminal trials in the Circuit Court, the Central Criminal Court and the Special Criminal Court have had to be adjourned because of the withdrawal of barristers from the scheme.
I had hoped that, like the solicitors, the Bar would work the scheme while the review was in progress— this, I would have thought normal in any dispute over working conditions. I now appeal to them, even at this stage, to return to the scheme pending completion of the review.