Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan at committee this afternoon.
Criminal legal aid dispute
The minister is currently being quizzed by TDs at the Oireachtas Justice Committee.
MINISTER FOR JUSTICE Jim O’Callaghan has written to the president of the Law Society this afternoon to arrange a meeting this week in an effort to resolve the solicitors’ strike.
The move represents a small climbdown from the Justice Minister, who had ignored the Law Society’s recent requests for a meeting until now, having last met them at the end of July.
It follows criminal legal aid solicitors escalating their strike action yesterday in response to O’Callaghan’s reforms to the pay structure for criminal legal aid.
This afternoon, O’Callaghan is appearing before the Oireachtas Justice Committee to answer questions about the new flat fee model and the resulting dispute.
In his opening statement for today’s committee meeting, submitted to the committee last night, O’Callaghan suggested that striking solicitors were deliberately targeting rape trials.
The accusation led to widespread criticism today from solicitors and opposition TDs, with the issue raised during Leaders’ Questions today by the Social Democrats and the Labour Party.
Calls to withdraw remarks
At the outset of O’Callaghan’s appearance at today’s committee, Fine Gael TD and barrister Barry Ward said O’Callaghan’s remarks about solicitors deliberately targeting rape trials were “grossly unfair” and inaccurate.
He called on O’Callaghan to withdraw the remark and noted that every new trial in the Central Criminal Court yesterday was a rape trial.
O’Callaghan said he is “not trying to antagonise” solicitors but refused to withdraw his remarks.
Sinn Féin TD Mark Ward accused the minister of “cherry-picking ” one court in his remarks yesterday.
In response, O’Callaghan said he did so because that is “where the disruption was” yesterday.
The committee is ongoing.