Gary Gannon: “I would be raising the issue as much as possible and called on Minister O'Callaghan to get back into the room with the…”

Thousands of cases have already been adjourned, people facing serious charges are unable to get legal advice and criminal courts have effectively come to a standstill.

The decision taken by the Minister for Justice, a unilateral decision, has resulted in our system of criminal legal aid and justice effectively grinding to a halt.

This is a mess of the minister's making. He must reverse these changes immediately and do what he should have done from the outset – sit down with the Law Society and meaningfully engage with them.

Those delays have implications, very serious ones, for victims of crime.