Solicitors strike in Nenagh

On Friday morning, Solicitors in Nenagh withdrew their services in Nenagh District Court due to changes that are expected to be made to the legal aid of solicitors on July 1st.

Solicitors of Nenagh District Court withdrew their services to highlight their belief that these changed would be ‘unfair, unworkable, and would undermine access to Justice’:

“There is a new proposal by the Department of Justice to change legal aid payments. At the moment, it is one payment of €260, followed by a payment per appearance of €60. The new proposal is one flat fee of €455.

“Our concern is that this does not represent the amount of work that goes into each case,” expressed Solicitor Ian Macnamara while speaking to the Nenagh Guardian.

“The one size fits all..the most vulnerable members of society, such as those in custody or juveniles, that require a sizeable amount of attendances in court, the one payment puts a limit on the amount of legal aid services that we can provide to any person,” continued Solicitor Macnamara.

District Court Addressed

On behalf of the solicitors who work in District 8, Solicitor Elizabeth McKeever addressed Judge Marie Keane in Nenagh District Court:

“Nenagh Solicitors have been providing legal aid for in excess of thirty-five years, and the decision to withdraw our services has not been taken lightly,” stated Solicitor Elizabeth McKeever to Judge Marie Keane in Nenagh District Court.

“We are acutely conscious of the disruption and inconvenience that this will cause to yourself as Judge of our court area, to the court staff and the gardaí,” continued the solicitor.

“The Minister for Justice has taken a unilateral decision to introduce uneconomic legal aid rates from the 1st of July 2026,” stated Solicitor Elizabeth McKeever, highlighting how this was done with “little or no consultation” with the Law Society of the Criminal Legal Aid Solicitor.

“We are of the opinion that the proposed changes to the to the criminal legal aid scheme are unfair, unworkable and undermine access to Justice,” stated Solicitor Elizabeth McKeever.

Due to it being an issue with the Department of Justice, Judge Marie Keane said that she could not comment on the situation but said that she knew that the ‘decision was not taken lightly’ by the solicitors who work in District 8.

Judge Marie Keane referred to the work of solicitors as a ‘vocation’ and said that commentary that is out there about solicitors making loads of money was ‘simply untrue’.

Reflecting on the work of solicitors, Judge Marie Keane spoke about how the District Court is ‘to a very large extent, is a dumping ground for all of societies problems’ and that solicitors often have to ‘deal with the most vulnerable of people,’ in society, ‘ in a manner that upholds their dignity’.

Judge Marie Keane also made a point to mention the long working hours of solicitors and that solicitors often have to work unsociable hours to help those who are in custody or who may have to appear in court.

Ongoing Strike Action expected

“It’s an individual decision by each person to withdraw their services,” expressed Solicitor Macnamara going on to say that most of his colleagues withdrew their services from Wednesday last.

“I can’t see how it can stop until there is a genuine consultation,” he expressed.

“Our only option is to withdraw our services,” he stated.

Law Society of Ireland

In a statement, the Law Society of Ireland strongly rejects the Criminal Legal Aid flat fee proposal that has been put forward by the Department of Justice.

“The document, which is underpinning its Criminal Legal Aid flat-fee proposal, makes multiple critical assertions about solicitors yet fails to provide data to supports these assertions. Instead, the document is littered with anecdotes and individual examples, rather than systematic data,” stated the Law Society of Ireland about the proposal.

Department of Justice

The Nenagh Guardian contacted the department of Justice about the ongoing strikes that are taking place from solicitors both nationally and locally:

“It is regrettable that some practitioners are taking this course of action as the proposed reform of the Criminal Legal Aid fee structure in the District Court is aimed primarily at improving efficiencies, speeding up case resolution, and reducing unnecessary adjournments, while ensuring fair, faster and sustainable remuneration for legal practitioners.

The reform of the criminal legal aid fee structure will not affect the ability of legal professionals to engage in criminal legal aid work. Minister O’Callaghan met with the Bar Council on 27 May and with the Law Society on 29 May. Additionally, Departmental officials have been engaging extensively with relevant stakeholders, including legal professionals and their representative bodies on the proposed changes. Submissions from representative bodies were also invited, received, and considered,

Officials from the Department met with the Law Society on Tuesday and Thursday last week to discuss the reform of the criminal legal aid scheme. The engagement was constructive and the Department remains open to further engagement in advance of the new arrangements coming into effect on 1 July,” responded a spokesperson for the Department of Justice.