Jim O’Callaghan says he will review legal-aid data as dispute continues

Irish Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said at a news conference in Dublin on 8 October that he would assess data on the country’s criminal legal-aid reforms and make changes if he considered them necessary. His remarks come amid a dispute over the new payment system for solicitors and a sharp fall in legal-aid certificates reported by the Law Society of Ireland. O’Callaghan also said he would not simply give solicitors what they wanted.

O’Callaghan said his department receives weekly figures on the number of legal-aid certificates issued. By 2 October, he said, 2,400 certificates had been issued. He described the vast majority of solicitors as providing services in court and urged others to join them. He said criminal cases were continuing across the country following the start of the new legal term on Monday, while acknowledging an issue in Dublin with solicitors withdrawing their services.

What the legal-aid certificate figures show

The Law Society says figures it obtained from the Courts Service show 394 criminal legal-aid certificates were issued in August 2026, down from 2,868 in August 2025, an 86% decline. It reports a separate 93% fall in July, from 10,277 certificates in 2025 to 702 in 2026. Those monthly comparisons and the minister’s figure of 2,400 certificates by 2 October cover different periods, so they cannot be read as equivalent measures of the scheme’s activity.

The Law Society says the decline raises concerns about access to justice and the functioning of criminal courts. The published material cited here does not include the underlying Courts Service dataset, and the minister’s weekly figures have not been independently inspected for this report. The figures establish a substantial decline in the months identified by the Law Society; they do not, on their own, show how many cases were delayed or what happened to individual defendants.

How the €520 fee changed solicitors’ payments

The Law Society says the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Amendment Regulations took effect on 1 July. It identifies two outstanding issues: granting a single certificate for multiple cases listed on the same day, and payment for long-running cases under the flat-fee structure. On 31 July, it told the minister that solicitors would be willing to participate provisionally while the system was reviewed, provided those two issues were resolved.

According to the Law Society, changes proposed by O’Callaghan on 28 July included splitting the flat fee into €320 after assignment of a certificate and €200 at the end of the case or after 12 months. A six-month review was also proposed. The society said in its 28 September update that those changes had not yet been made to the regulations. That account establishes the society’s position at that date; the available sources do not establish a later amendment.

Walkout, mediation dispute and expected court ruling

The Journal reported that about 200 criminal defence solicitors and barristers walked out of the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin on 5 October, the first day of the new legal term. Chief Justice Donal O’Donnell expressed concern about the continuing dispute and called for it to be resolved. O’Callaghan said on 8 October that he agreed a resolution was important, but rejected the suggestion that this required him to concede the Law Society’s demands.

The Law Society says it proposed independent mediation and that O’Callaghan rejected the proposal on 15 September. In the society’s account, the minister said mediation would not resolve the outstanding issues and cited an impending High Court judgment. The society continues to favour mediation. Its account also says solicitor John Quinn’s judicial review was heard on 30 and 31 July, with judgment reserved and expected on 13 October. The outcome was not established by the sources available on 8 October.

O’Callaghan says he will keep assessing the data and alter the scheme if he concludes changes are warranted. The immediate questions are whether the government and solicitors can resolve the two payment issues identified by the Law Society, whether the proposed changes are made to the regulations, and what the High Court decides. The minister’s pledge to review the figures is a stated willingness to act, rather than an announcement of a further amendment.