Justice Minister announces next steps on legal aid fees
Date published:
The Justice Minister has agreed to accept all recommendations made by the accelerated review of criminal legal aid.
In a written ministerial statement, Naomi Long said she will now take the necessary steps to implement an additional 8.66% increase to all criminal legal aid fees.
The full statement and review report are available at the publication section of this website.
Notes to editors:
- The Accelerated Review: Criminal Legal Aid Remuneration was initiated by the Justice Minister on 6 March 2026 to fast-track specific elements of an agreed roadmap on criminal legal aid remuneration.
- The review was conducted by joint chairs, His Honour Judge Tom Burgess and John Miskelly, Associate Strategic Advisor with the Strategic Investment Board.
- To keep up to date with news from the Department follow us on : LinkedIn, Bluesky, Instagram, Youtube, Justice NI (@Justice_NI) / X
- The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800 hrs and 0800 hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.