Amanda Connolly, Vice-Chair and Dr Shane McCarthy, Chair

The committee has had a busy and productive year, making significant contributions to both the Oireachtas and the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration through a series of submissions aimed at informing policy and decision-making.

A key focus of the committee’s work has been the restoration of legal-aid fees, which has formed a substantial part of the committee’s submissions. Throughout the year, we have engaged extensively with the Law Society’s Policy Department in preparing written submissions and participating in meetings with the Department of Justice. These engagements have centred on the restoration of legal-aid fees and on highlighting serious concerns regarding the proposed flat-fee model. The committee remains committed to this important work and will continue to engage with relevant stakeholders throughout the coming year.

We are committed to continuing our programme of liaison meetings with criminal-justice-system stakeholders to represent the experiences of solicitors when they attend garda stations or prisons.

The committee has worked closely with the Courts Service to ensure practitioners are fully up-to-date with the latest developments, and will continue to support criminal-law practitioners by providing guidance on practice-related queries and by hosting its annual conference, in partnership with the Law Society Professional Training team, later this year.