Current issues on the Committee's agenda include:

1. Garda Station Legal Services

• We published guidance for solicitors when they provide garda station legal services.

  • Learn more about this initiative in the President’s eBulletin of 8 December 2015 and access guidance here.

• We developed the web search facility, Find a Garda Station Solicitor.  

  • This service helps individuals to find a solicitor’s contact details when detained in garda custody. The facility also enables gardaí to search by division for a solicitor available to attend their local garda station to provide legal advice and attend interviews. Solicitors can communicate their availability to attend particular garda stations on a divisional basis by registering contact details here.

• We represented the views of practising solicitors in relation to garda station legal services.

  • The Criminal Law Committee provided feedback to An Garda Síochána’s Code of Practice on Access to a Solicitor by Persons in Garda Custody. 

  • The Committee made a Submission to the Department of Justice and Equality in October 2015 about the legal aid scheme available for garda station legal services. That submission included recommendations to help guarantee equal and unrestricted access for everyone to vital legal advices during detention. The submission also raised awareness of the challenges experienced by solicitors when providing essential garda station legal services which help protect due process and fair trial rights.

• We developed training in relation to garda station legal services in conjunction with Law Society Professional Training.

• A variety of training options for Garda Station Legal Services have been offered including:

  • A free seminar in May 2014 about giving advice in garda stations with over 200 solicitors in attendance.

  • Bespoke workshops to train solicitors attending garda station interviews in October 2014 in Dublin and September 2015 in Cork. This workshop is available to all Bar Associations nationwide as part of Law Society Professional Training’s CPD Cluster event options.

  • The Law Society has also partnered with DCU to secure EU funding and new training in relation to accessing legal services during detention will be developed during 2016.

2. Legal Aid

• We published criminal legal aid information and forms in 2015.

  • You can download Criminal Legal Aid – Information and Forms for Solicitors which is a document which brings together web links to all criminal legal aid guidance and claim forms issued by the Department of Justice and Equality and the Legal Aid Board together with relevant contact details. It is hoped that this document will help solicitors when making claims for legal aid.

• We provided criminal legal aid training.

  • The Committee’s 2015 Symposium explored criminal legal aid top practice management tips together with a discussion of Irish and EU perspectives. 

• We contributed the views of criminal law practitioners in relation to legal aid arrangements for garda station legal services.  

  • The Committee made a Submission to the Department of Justice and Equality in October 2015 about the legal aid scheme available for garda station legal services. 

3. Criminal justice developments and law reform

• We contributed to criminal justice developments and law reform through submissions, by participating in Oireachtas Committee hearings and also by providing training to solicitors on practice developments in, for example, the following areas:

  • Cyber-crime

    • Submission on Cyber-Crime affecting Personal Safety, Privacy and Reputation including Cyber-Bullying - February 2015.

  • Community sanctions

    • Submission on Criminal Justice (Community Sanctions) Bill 2014 - April 2014.

  • Restorative justice 

    • Submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality on Restorative Justice - March 2014.

  • Community courts

    • Submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality on Community Courts - January 2014.

  • Prison law

    • We contributed the views of practising solicitors to the Inspector of Prisons Judge Michael Reilly and Professor Andrew Coyle Report entitled "Culture and Organisation in the Irish Prison Service - A Road Map for the Future".

    • We provided training on prison law developments as part of the Committee’s 2015 Symposium, the aim of which was to provide solicitors with a practical analysis of developments in prison law both in Ireland and internationally. Judge Michael Reilly, Inspector of Prisons, and Professor Andrew Coyle, Emeritus Professor of Prison Studies, University of London spoke at the Symposium.  

4. International Work

• In conjunction with the Law Society’s Director General and the Family Law Committee, we hosted a delegation from the China-EU Access to Justice Programme.