208. Deputy Catherine Ardagh asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the aspects of the flat fee proposal for criminal legal aid work at District Court level that had been disclosed to associations (details supplied) at the time of the initiation of his Departmental consultation with those parties in relation to a paper entitled 'Review of Criminal Legal Aid in the District Court'; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31407/26]

The Government recognises the crucial role played by the legal professions in the effective administration of criminal justice.

It is important to note that the Programme for Government contains three commitments in relation to Criminal Legal Aid. The first is to reform the operation of the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme.  The second is to restore criminal legal aid fees, and the third is to enact the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Bill. It is my intention to fulfil all three commitments.

Officials from my Department met with the Bar Council and Law Society together in May, July and October 2025. My Department also furnished both representative bodies with a paper entitled 'Review of Criminal Legal Aid in the District Court' in October 2025. Both bodies were invited to make submissions on the findings of the review by November 2025.

An initial submission from the Law Society was received on 14 November 2025 and correspondence was also received from the Bar Council. The content of the review and submissions informed the development of the flat fee proposal which was formally relayed to both representative bodies in February 2026.

I can assure the Deputy that my officials have had ongoing engagement with the professional bodies and most recently met with the Law Society and Bar Council in early March.

Following this meeting, further submissions were received from the Law Society and from the Bar Council on the 27 March and 2 April respectively, concerning proposals for a flat fee in the District Court. My Department is currently considering the content of these submissions and will continue to engage with the Law Society and Bar Council in advance of the introduction of the new arrangements on 1 July.