Criminal Legal Aid in Crisis | Limerick News

Only three out of 260 solicitors say they’ll stick with Ireland’s new criminal legal aid scheme launching July 1, sparking alarm as lawyers warn it’s doomed to repeat past failures — echoing the family law debacle that drove firms out and left gaps in service. The Legal Aid Board is already struggling nationwide, while Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan defends the flat €520 fee, claiming it will speed up cases by ending the old system’s incentive to drag them out. But lawyers counter that delayed payments — potentially months — could cripple smaller firms’ cash flow, leading to thousands of district court cases being postponed and a cascading collapse across the criminal justice system. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/67be33b40943ae2f