KILDARE: Criminal law barristers to go on strike at Naas District Court tomorrow

Criminal barristers will go on strike at Naas District Court tomorrow.

The strike will take effect from 10am tomorrow.

The news follows an announcement from The Chair of the Council of The Bar of Ireland, Sarah Phelan, which was made yesterday, in which she said that the organisation would 'very reluctantly' go ahead with a nationwide strike.

In an official statement, The Bar said: "(A) nationwide withdrawal of service on October 3 has been recommended by The Bar of Ireland to criminal law practitioners.

"Fees for criminal barristers remain below 2002 levels in nominal terms, following a range of cuts applied during the financial emergency."

The organisation continued: "In 2008, the government also unilaterally broke the link between fees paid to barristers with increases applied under public sector pay agreements.

"Barristers have suffered a pay cut in real terms of more than 40 per cent over the past twenty years, while every other group of workers in the criminal justice system has seen pay restoration implemented... this is despite a range of additional reforms and changed practices being delivered by barristers."

The Bar concluded its statement by saying: "This one-day national withdrawal of service has been recommended in pursuit of a mechanism to determine the fees payable to barristers by the Director of Public Prosecutions and under the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) scheme."

As well as the strike affecting Naas District Court, the withdrawal of professional services by criminal barristers will affect all courthouses nationwide where criminal matters were listed to be heard.

These other courthouses include: The Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin, Sligo, Castlebar, Monaghan, Dundalk, Longford, Trim, Wexford, Waterford, Nenagh, Limerick and Cork.