Criminal barristers withdraw services across the country in second day of action

Criminal barristers have withdrawn services across the country, in the second of three days of action this month.

Protests are taking place where criminal cases were due to be heard on Monday, at the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin, and courthouses in Cork, Limerick, Galway, and Castlebar. Criminal barristers withdrew their services as part of a campaign to have their pay cuts reversed. In an unprecedented move, barristers first withdrew their services last October, which led to a restoration of 10% of fees in the budget. However, barristers say the rise did not fully restore their pay following cuts made in the financial crash, and that the breaking of the link to public sector pay agreements has yet to be restored. The Council of The Bar of Ireland said its members are increasingly frustrated at the lack of engagement from Government on the matter. Chairwoman of the council of The Bar of Ireland Sara Phelan SC said there has been no progress in their bid to restore their pay. “The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform put out a statement saying it was the gift of the Minister for Justice (Helen McEntee) to actually deal with fees,” Ms Phelan said. “The Minister for Justice is saying nothing can be done ahead of the budget process, so therefore we are in no better position now than we were last week. “We have to wait to see what the Government wants to do for us. The ball is very firmly in their court. “We are ready, willing and able to engage with them, to talk to them. We have made that very clear, that we remain open to conversation and to engagement in order to avert the third day of protest, which is next week. “What we would like is a binding commitment now, that binding commitment could take effect as and of the budget but we would like to see a binding commitment now. “We don’t believe that that can’t be done because public sector pay agreements are completed outside of the budget process from time to time, and there has been one earlier on this year that will take effect with the budget. “We don’t see why that can’t be done in our case as well.” She added: “My criminal colleagues around the country who practice crime on the circuit, they are increasingly frustrated at the lack of progress. “They were very frustrated last October, we had our day of protest, and that resulted in a 10% restoration. That 10% had actually been taken from us in 2011. “That 10% hadn’t applied to any other sector at that stage. We were uniquely the subject of that cut. “However, the government also in the budget committed to engaging with us to review fees and to review the criminal legal aid system. “But our review of fees was to be built into that. We wrote to the Minister for Justice in November setting out draft terms of reference for review. “There was no real engagement from the Department of Justice. There was one meeting on the 25th of June before our day of protests took place. “But that obviously was far too little far too late. Our members now are becoming very, very frustrated. The sense of frustration is far more palpable now than it was last October. “There is a sense of annoyance, there’s a sense of being let down by government, there’s a sense of being taken advantage of, and members are not happy by any stretch of the imagination. “There has been a huge support for these days of protest. The Bar Council can only make a recommendation to its members, but our members in unity have decided to come out and protest last week, this week and next week.” Junior barrister Aoife McNickle has been practising at the Bar for 15 years. She said: “I can really see over the 15 years how practice has changed and the fact that our fees haven’t changed in that period of time is really making things untenable now. “It’s making things much more difficult. The lists are much heavier than they were, for example, even pre-Covid, so it’s with reluctance that we’ve had to come out again here today. “The rate of attrition – we can see that people are leaving after year six, and that’s the average time when people are leaving the criminal bar.” “People who want to practice in law and do this important work are now leaving at the end of year six or thereabouts because they can’t make a living wage. “These are people who have no aspirations to be fat-cat lawyers or anything like that. They want to do a good job, but they can’t make a living wage and they can’t stay and we’re losing those good people. “We can see how that’s going to affect the Bar and the criminal justice system in the years to come. “In fact, it’s we can see those effects now. “It affects everyone within the criminal justice system. It’s not just accused clients, it’s also complainants who are waiting for their trials to be heard.” Junior counsel Aoife O’Leary has been practising for 20 years. “The work has become increasingly complex. There’s been an explosion in the amount of data that has to be reviewed by barristers in preparation for criminal trials arising from the use of mobile phones or further increases in technology,” Ms O’Leary said. “Barristers have stepped up and done that work, and in 2018 barristers participated in a departmental review, which concluded that we had provided the efficiencies that would warrant the restoration of pay cuts, and that arose from the manner in which the Bar has continued to engage in the work and the commitment that barristers have to their work. “It’s a sign of extreme frustration within the Bar that barristers have been prepared to take these days of action, effectively arising from a situation where they were being ignored by Government.”

Published: 15/07/2024 by Radio NewsHub