'Red-line issues remain': Changes to legal aid scheme not enough to stop strikes, says solicitor

Flat fee of €520 for district court criminal legal aid cases 'will remain in place' but payment of flat fee would be 'split' so that two-thirds of it would be paid at the start of a case and the remaining third at the end of the case or 12 months after the case starts, whichever is first

Jim O'Callaghan: Any criminal legal aid solicitor who has resigned from the panel but now wants to be reinstated arising from the above clarification will be able to do so without delay. File picture: Niall Carson/PA

Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan has announced changes to the new legal aid scheme that has prompted solicitor strikes, but said the flat fee “will remain”.

The Law Society of Ireland said criminal law solicitors would consider the correspondence from the minister.