O’Callaghan defends claim on assault case adjournments

Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan defended his claim that solicitors’ withdrawal of services deliberately affected assault cases, while a criminal defence solicitor rejected that allegation and said the action disrupted courts nationwide. At an Oireachtas Justice Committee hearing on Tuesday, October 20, O’Callaghan said six Central Criminal Court cases adjourned on Monday involved allegations of assault. He also said four cases adjourned on October 12 and five on October 5 involved assault allegations. The minister said the figures came from information provided to him by the Courts Service. O’Callaghan said he focused on the Central Criminal Court because solicitors were campaigning there. He told committee members that seven other cases in the court were not affected by the withdrawal. Fine Gael TD Barry Ward challenged the minister’s characterization, saying all trials in that court on Monday involved assault allegations and that the figures did not show solicitors had selected those cases deliberately. Eoghan O’Sullivan, a criminal defence solicitor with Powderly Solicitors, said solicitors had withdrawn services across courts around the country and had not targeted...