Striking solicitors are hoping that a proposal by the Law Society to the Minister for Justice that an independent arbitrator be appointed to try to break the ongoing impasse which is grinding the District Courts to a virtual standstill.
Solicitor Cathy McDarby, responding to a request by Judge Fiona Lydon at Galway District Court on Wednesday for an update on the dispute and to know whether there had been developments, said there was indeed a very positive development to relate.
It now appears that an independent arbitrator may be appointed and this is something all the striking solicitors want as the two sides in the dispute are so entrenched, and they all hoped this would lead to a speedy resolution.
She added that she and her colleagues could soon get back to work as that is what they all wanted.
There were somewhat misleading headlines in the national media on Wednesday which could have been interpreted as half the counties in the country having solicitors strike-breaking when actually, in almost every case, this was confined to an insignificant number of solicitors working in the legal aid scheme.
At Galway District Court yesterday a barrister, being instructed by a Limerick-based solicitor, was the only lawyer present to apply for legal aid certification.
On Tuesday at Tuam District Court it was stated by striking solicitor Sean Acton that not a single cert had been applied for in Court District 4, with takes up the eastern half of Co Galway, by any practitioner, and no solicitor in the district had been paid under the legal aid scheme since the dispute began over two months ago.
There remains two outstanding issues to be resolved. One is the treatment of separate and distinct criminal cases as a single matter when they come before a court on the same day. The other is the absence of a practical mechanism to deal with exceptional cases that often concern children and those with mental health issues which can involve multiple court appearances and consultations.
The Law Society has refuted Minister O’Callaghan’s claim that the courts were continuing to work effectively. The body points out that thousands of cases have already been adjourned and this was having a profound impact on the administration of justice.
The Law Society states that the number of legal aid certs granted has collapsed, down 93 per cent from the 10,277 issued in July 2025 to just 702 in July this year.
This article is funded by Comisiún na Meán.
