What is happening
See details of the proposed changes and the Law Society's response.
Latest press release
Statement on Criminal Legal Aid
Latest press release
Statement on Criminal Legal Aid
"The Law Society received correspondence from the Minister for Justice this afternoon which has been circulated to criminal law solicitors."
Campaign updates
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20 Jul 2026
Action and advocacy
Recent weeks have seen the Law Society and hundreds of criminal law solicitors highlight their concerns about changes to the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme
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19 Jul 2026
Collapse in criminal legal aid certificates
Just 174 certificates issued over the past two weeks.
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30 Jun 2026
Oireachtas engagement
Law Society President Rosemarie Loftus and members of the Criminal Law Committee attended a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to discuss concerns about the proposed changes to Criminal Legal Aid.
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30 Jun 2026
Statement from Law Society President Rosemarie Loftus
“!Any reform of criminal legal aid should be workable, fair and evidence based. This proposal is none of those things and the fundamental concerns the Law Society has outlined have not been addressed.”
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23 Jun 2026
Justice Minister must publish report on criminal legal aid
The Justice Minister must release the report he is using as a pretext to take a sledgehammer to the criminal legal aid scheme, according to Social Democrats justice spokesperson Gary Gannon.
article
22 Jun 2026
A more thoughtful, coherent and effective approach needed
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Justice, Matt Carthy TD, warns that proposals ignore the complexity of the reasons for delays in the courts and their impact on access to justice for vulnerable people and victims of crime.
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26 Jun 2026
Legal, Human Rights, Civil Society organisations raise concerns
Several national legal, human rights and civil society organisations came together to voice their shared concerns regarding a planned 20% cut to Ireland's Criminal Legal Aid Scheme and the potential consequences for access to justice.
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22 Jun 2026
Practitioner guidance leaves questions unanswered
Criminal law practitioners have expressed serious concern following the publication of a guidance document raises substantive operational, financial, and procedural issues for solicitors engaged in criminal defence work.
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18 Jun 2026
Law Society condemns seriously flawed review
Major policy changes should be supported by strong analysis and systematic data – not anecdotes and hearsay- says Law Society President Rosemarie Loftus.
Resources for solicitors
Media coverage
Explore a snapshot of print, online and broadcast media coverage.
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