Irish Examiner view: Taxpayers deserve due process too

It is a basic tenet of our democracy that all citizens are entitled to justice irrespective of their financial circumstances

A confidential unpublished report, completed by the Department of Justice, has uncovered some disconcerting issues about the free legal aid scheme, from instances of courts not asking for statements of means to the finding that free legal aid cases take nearly two and a half times longer than those not involving free legal aid. File picture 

New rules governing the free legal aid system in our courts are due to come into effect on July 1, and solicitors are unhappy with the proposals. They are planning to strike in protest at the changes, a move which has led to some adverse reactions.

For instance, one High Court judge criticised the Law Society of Ireland this week for failing to inform the courts of proposed withdrawal of legal aid work by solicitors, describing it as “highly discourteous”.