Man appears in court over fatal Dublin assault as legal aid row delays bail

A man who appeared in court charged in connection with a fatal assault in Dublin is to represent himself in his bail application as a result of the ongoing row over legal aid.

Anthony Long, aged in his 40s, died in hospital days after an alleged assault in Parslickstown Drive, Mulhuddart, on July 3.

On Monday morning, Nathan Kenna, 29, of The Nurseries, Mulhuddart, Dublin 15, appeared before Blanchardstown district court.

The court heard from Garda Sean O’Fatharta, who said Mr Kenna had been charged with assault causing harm in relation to the alleged incident at 12.15am on Sunday.

Solicitor Michael Hennessy said he was attending the hearing, but not appearing, out of “respect for the tragic circumstances of the case”.

He said he was resigning from the legal aid board because of the “intransigent approach of the Department of Justice” towards the current dispute with solicitors over fees.

On July 1, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan implemented a flat-fee rate for criminal legal aid in the district court, prompting anger and withdrawal of services among solicitors practising in the area.

During Monday’s hearing, Gardaí objected to bail, and Judge Aine Clancy asked Mr Kenna if he would represent himself to make an application for bail, which he said he would.

He told the court he was not working, and Ms Clancy said he would ordinarily be granted legal aid.

She explained the ongoing dispute to Mr Kenna and offered to defer his application to allow time to prepare for his bail hearing and “put his best foot forward”.

Ms Clancy remanded him in custody until Wednesday, when he is due to appear at Cloverhill district court where he is expected to apply for bail.

She said the time was to prepare for the hearing and to see if he could come up with cash or independent sureties.

The court sergeant said the details of the bail objections are to be furnished provided to Mr Kenna.

He is the second person to be charged in relation to the incident.

Last week, a man in his 50s was also charged to appear before Blanchardstown District Court.

A Department for Justice spokesperson said: “As the new criminal legal aid fee arrangements in the district court are the subject of ongoing judicial review proceedings in the High Court, the department is not in a position to comment significantly at this time.

“The changes to the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme in the district court that came into effect on Wednesday July 1 are designed to make that system more efficient and effective.

“This reform is just one part of meeting Programme for Government commitments on the overall need for reform across the criminal justice system.

“Other reforms include restoring fees for higher courts, which also commenced from July 1, and enacting the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Bill, which will be progressed in the next year.”

They added: “The department continues to keep the operation of the new criminal legal aid arrangements in the district court under review following their introduction, including monitoring claims for fees, entries to and exits from the panel of solicitors and overall operations within the courts.”