Flat Fee Fiasco in Criminal Legal Aid | Cork News

Cork News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Jul 2, 2026 · 1m

A solicitor is suing the government over a new flat-fee payment system for criminal legal aid, which pays €520 per District Court case regardless of how many court appearances are needed — a drastic shift from the previous per-appearance model that better reflected the true workload. The change has sparked outrage among lawyers, who say it’s financially unsustainable and undermines their right to fair compensation, especially in complex or multi-date cases. The system’s rollout has already disrupted the criminal justice process, and the case, led by John Quinn, could reshape how legal aid is…