Clare Criminal Barristers Fighting For Justice In Pay Dispute

Clare's Criminal Barristers have begun withdrawing their services today, as part of three days of planned industrial action.

The legal professionals are warning of a potential recruitment crisis in the sector, unless pay cuts introduced in response to the recession in 2009 are reversed.

Criminal cases at sixteen courthouses, including Ennis won't be heard today as cases cannot proceed without the presence of a criminal barrister.

The pay dispute, which has resulted in the withdrawal of services by Barristers, has the potential to cause a significant case backlog, as two more days of industrial action are planned later this month.

The demonstration is aiming to reverse cuts introduced in 2009 under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act (FEMPI), which have still not been restored, despite a public sector pay agreement in place to do so.

Last June, Justice Minister Helen McEntee told a barristers conference "there was no good reason fee restoration had not yet taken place."

Barrister Lorcan Connolly from Ennis says the situation is placing the sustainability of the entire criminal justice at risk.

According to the Bar Council of Ireland, two-thirds of Criminal Barristers will leave the profession within their first six years.

The Council also claims that before barristers received a 10% restoration in budget 2024, their pay was 40% below 2002 levels in real terms.

Barrister Amy Nix from Quin is now in her fifth year of the profession, says parity is urgently needed to ensure skilled, competent and sensitive professionals are serving in the courtrooms of Clare long into the future.

It remains to be seen if Clare's Criminal Barristers will get the justice they're searching for, but for now the ball is firmly in the government's court.