Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is not good enough. The Minister could have prevented it from taking place. In July 2018, a detailed review process led by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions stated:

That all parties are in unequivocal agreement that the ongoing flexibility being delivered by prosecuting counsel, documented above, is considered comparable to the flexibility delivered by other groups to justify the reversing of cuts imposed during the financial emergency.

That was five years ago. It was written in conjunction with the Minister's Department and sanctioned by the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. The point is that this was well flagged five years ago, flagged on 12 July and still took place on 3 October, causing untold disruption to our court services on that day and the delaying of very serious court cases. We know about a sexual assault case that could not go ahead last May because of the lack of a senior counsel; this was flagged. This should have been communicated to the Bar Council. We did not need to have that day of action last Tuesday. I ask again for a timeline, please, for the full restoration of fees.

See this speech in context