State solicitors withdraw from district court work

THE courts face chaos after the country’s 32 State solicitors yesterday withdrew from District Court work over money they claim is owed them by the State.

Their leader Michael Murray, who is Limerick State solicitor, said if they don’t get satisfaction, the dispute will be widened to Circuit Court work next week.

The State Solicitors Association (SSA) began industrial action by withdrawing services indefinitely in district courts as well as refusing to take on new files.

Unless the solicitors’ demands are met they say they will extend their campaign from next Monday to include circuit court cases.

Solicitors will continue, however, to deal with custody cases.

The solicitors are demanding payment of arrears they say are due for costs and expenses before they agree a new contract with the Government.

State solicitors, who prosecute cases in the district and circuit courts, claim they are owed up to €5.7 million in arrears.

Mr Murray, who said he is personally owed around €500,000, insisted that the row related to reimbursement of monies he and his colleagues have spent on behalf of the State.

“Our dispute is entirely different from the nurses’ — this is not about pay, but about reimbursement of monies spent on behalf of the State,” he told RTÉ.

“They now owe us, as a group, €5.7m in arrears and the point has come where we are no longer prepared to continue working without these payments being made,” he said.

He claimed the Government was withholding these payments as “a bargaining ploy” to force agreement on terms and conditions in a new contract of employment.

Regarding the new contract, Mr Murray claimed their security of tenure was also being interfered with — they could be dismissed by 12 months’ notice in writing.

At present, they could be employed until age 65 and some of the current solicitors had been given five-year extensions beyond that age, he said.

Under the new contract restrictions were also being placed on the amount of private work State solicitors could undertake.

The solicitors claim the arrears consist mainly of compensation and reimbursement for money spent on costs and overheads connected with the provision of their services to the State. It would include support staff, office premises and general office facilities.