Justice Minister Boosts Legal Aid Fees | Belfast News

Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan is rolling out a major overhaul of criminal legal aid fees, hiking the flat rate per case from €455 to €520 — a 13% jump — after a week-long walkout by defense solicitors caused massive court delays. The new “one accused, one fee” model pays €520 regardless of how many court appearances are needed, even for multiple charges (each gets its own fee), and ensures full payment if a solicitor handles the case end-to-end. Higher court cases now get the full €520 — up from €100 — and new fees for bench warrants mean each defendant pays the full amount. The minister claims this covers the reality that vulnerable clients often require multiple court dates, averaging about five appearances. The new system aims to pay solicitors roughly the same as before — plus an 8% bonus — and could even boost earnings if court appearances drop. Circuit Court fees also rise 8%, and cases moving up will get the €520 plus the higher Circuit fee. Behind the scenes, a confidential report suggests old per-appearance fees may have incentivized unnecessary adjournments — a problem the new model is designed to fix, simplify, and save the state money while guaranteeing legal representation. Support the show:Get a discount at https://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/3c23d8e4f034c4c5