Many courthouses around the nation came to a standstill on Tuesday due to a strike and protest by barristers, making a pronounced statement of their ongoing disagreement over fee structures. The Central Criminal Court in Dublin cancelled all proceedings for the day, in anticipation of the barristers’ protest, shifting ongoing trials to the following Wednesday.
In order to ensure minimal impact on cases involving susceptible witnesses and children, the Bar Council affirmed they would take necessary precautions. Cases that were previously listed at the Central Criminal Court also experienced delays, being adjourned ahead of time.
Although court insiders did not expect the protests to heavily influence existing case backlogs, wait times at the Central Criminal Court, which handles serious criminal cases including murders and sexual crimes, could reach as long as a year due to inherent delays such as obtaining expert reports. Cases involving children or vulnerable witnesses typically are heard within a half year period.
The Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, where the backlog sometimes reaches as long as a year and a half, postponed five trials involving six defendants until Wednesday due to the barristers’ protests. Many other courts across the country followed suit, delaying hearings to later in the week.
Barristers picketed at courthouses across towns and cities including Ennis, Cork, Tralee, Naas, Kilkenny, Limerick, and others. The District Courts, where a majority of the cases are handled by solicitors alone, continued their operations.
If the barristers keep to their protest plans for July 15th and 24th, a similar disruption is anticipated in the higher criminal courts. The protests are backed by the council of the Bar of Ireland and follow an unprecedented service withdrawal by criminal barristers last October.
Advocates are demanding the reversal of all cuts implemented during the period of economic downturn, along with a framework to ascertain fees set by the Director of Public Prosecutions and under the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Scheme. On a rainy Tuesday morning, numerous advocates, some brandishing signs reading ‘Fair is Fair’ and ‘Government, it’s your move’, congregated outside Dublin’s Courts of Criminal Justice.
Sara Phelan, bar council chair, stated that advocates are protesting once more as there is yet to be a dependable system to calculate their fees. Following a protest in October, a 10% fee restoration was put in place, indicating a return from the 10% decrease in 2011. However, advocates are still facing two cuts of 8% each, along with a 2.5% pay rise from 2008 that was never established.
Furthermore, Phelan added that the correlation with public sector wages, which was unilaterally severed in 2008, remains unresolved. While the government had assured they would communicate with the council, Phelan pointed out that the interaction has been insubstantial so far.
The Labour Party leader, Ivana Bacik, alongside Dublin MEP Aodhán Ó Riordáin, visited the CCJ to express support for the advocates specialising in criminal law. Bacik emphasised that said advocates typically earn considerably less than their counterparts in other areas of law, and criticised the State for its inaction in reinstating pay rates. She expressed concern over the attrition rate and noted the importance of public access to top-notch legal representation on criminal legal aid.
An advocate, Simon Donagh, with twelve years at the criminal bar, highlighted that two-thirds of advocates in this field resign within six years, a trend reinforced by the ongoing neglect to restore pay rates. He warned that several trials have already been compromised due to the struggle to find senior counsel to prosecute serious crime. This situation is a glimpse into a grim future unless measures are taken to rectify this issue, Donagh added.
In her ninth year as a criminal barrister, Jane Murphy discusses the challenges she faces. While she loves her work, managing her own business, raising small children, and doing it all under payment rates from almost 20 years ago is tough. Despite these challenges, barristers like Murphy continue to contribute to the advancements in the criminal justice system. They collaborate and contribute to various initiatives to improve the system, including special measures for vulnerable witnesses, pretrial proceedings, implementing the Victims Directive, and digital briefings, she adds.