Access to Justice Reduced With Legal Aid Cuts

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excerpt:

Barrister Marie Dyhrberg said that Mr Power had not qualified his comments by referring to "some" or "a few" lawyers. "He actually said 'lawyers' - meaning that in his view a majority or substantial number are committing fraud on the system by deliberately manufacturing false reasons for adjournments to obtain money which amounts to criminal fraud."

Ms Dyhrberg said that, unless the minister could substantiate his claims with specific examples to confirm that a majority or substantial number of lawyers had acted in this way, his statements could well amount to defamation.

She called on the minister to back up his claims by providing specific details of the names of lawyers and the times and places at which such behaviour had occured. Ms Dyhrberg said that the remarks also cast a slur on reputations of judges, as there was an implication that judges were either complicit with lawyers engaging in such behavious, or were incompetent in failing to prevent it. "The reality is that (the comments are) untrue. Only when there is a really good basis for an adjournment will you get it."