Vol. 423 No. 6
1 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Justice the action, if any, he has taken to resolve the dispute which resulted in the Cork solicitors on the Criminal Legal Aid panel again withdrawing their services in September, 1992, and in other solicitors threatening to take similar action throughout the country.
16 Mr. Sherlock asked the Minister for Justice the steps, if any, he is taking to settle the dispute involving legal aid solicitors in the Cork area and to ensure that legal aid is available to defendants and that they are brought to trial; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Priority Question No. 1 and Question No. 16 together.
On 9 September 1991 the Southern Law Association wrote to my predecessor and informed him that unless significant increases were made in the fees payable to solicitors for criminal legal aid work they would withdraw their services three weeks later. My predecessor responded to the effect that there was no claim for an increase before him and that such a claim would have to be submitted by the Incorporated Law Society. Notwithstanding the fact that no such claim had been lodged, the Cork solicitors withdrew from the operation of the criminal legal aid scheme on 1 October 1991.
Four months later, in February of this year, the law society submitted a claim for very large increases in the level of fees paid to solicitors who defend accused persons under the scheme. A series of meetings involving the law society and the courts division of my Department was held to negotiate a settlement of the claim. On 7 August a firm offer was made to the law society and they asked for six weeks to consider it. Later, on 15 September, an improved offer was made by my Department. However, the law society response was that the only offer which would be acceptable to them would involve a certain minimum level of fees. I had offered them over 60 per cent of an increase in fees for District Court cases but they wanted to double that figure to increases of about 120 per cent.
In these critical times for the public finances, I could not afford to make such an offer on behalf of the State and on 18 September all solicitors in the Cork criminal legal aid panel withdrew from it.
I think that all sides of the House would agree with me when I say that it is most regrettable that, at a time of need for restraint in public spending, the Cork solicitors should see fit to withdraw their services from the criminal legal aid scheme following refusal of an offer of increases over 60 per cent. The offer made by my Department was both fair and generous and it included payments for certain work which up to now had not been remunerated, particularly visits to Garda stations to persons in custody.
In this House today I want to appeal to the Cork solicitors to end their action and to resume their duties under the criminal legal aid scheme. Since its inception about 30 years ago that scheme has operated on the basis of participation in it of solicitors in private practice. I regard that participation as a very positive feature of the scheme and it is my earnest wish that it should continue. That is why I am making one last appeal here today to the solicitors involved. However, I am not prepared to see the successful administration of the criminal justice system put at risk by a situation where certain solicitors will opt out of the scheme despite very generous fee increases being offered to them. I, as Minister for Justice with responsibilities for the operation of all aspects of the criminal justice system, cannot allow a situation to develop in which persons charged before the courts could not have their cases disposed of because of the actions of a couple of dozen people.
If my appeal today is ignored and there is no return to the panel by the legal aid solicitors I will have no alternative but to put something else in place. I cannot wait indefinitely, nor would I expect Members of this House or the people of Cork to have the patience to wait indefinitely. If I do not get a favourable response from the Cork solicitors in the next few days I will have to make a decision on what alternative system of legal aid could be put in place to enable criminal charges to be disposed of and take immediate steps to implement that alternative system.
Does the Minister know that not only are solicitors in Cork withdrawing their services but also solicitors in Sligo, Galway, Kilkenny, Louth and Longford? Would he agree that there is now a serious risk that the whole administration of criminal justice will cease and that people facing serious charges will have those charges struck out, which may lead those people to feel immune to prosecution? As this dispute has been going on for more than 12 months, would the Minister not acknowledge that it is in the national interest that he personally meet urgently with the Incorporated Law Society to determine whether the dispute can be resolved once and for all in a satisfactory manner, rather than the Minister abdicating his role in this area and leaving it to officials of his Department to resolve the dispute?
I am not entirely without hope that the industrial action taken by the solicitors can be brought to an end. The law society have been in touch with my Department in the past few days in another effort to resolve the dispute. In fact, even while I speak in the House today, my Department will be in further contact with the law society to clarify what is available to the solicitors and what can be conceded of their claim. However, I have to emphasise that I cannot increase significantly my already generous offer. I am hopeful today that there may be some resolution of this matter or that we may at least start down the road of further negotiations that will resolve it finally.
