A decision is expected today on whether or not Dublin Circuit Criminal Court will start special vacation sittings on Monday to deal with 15 trials.
Representatives of the Bar Council and the Department of Justice are to inform the acting president of the Circuit Court, Judge Diarmuid Sheridan, if a long-running dispute over late payment of fees under the legal aid scheme has been resolved.
In July barristers announced they would not take part in legal aid cases during the special sittings unless payment arrears were settled and the present scheme was replaced by a new streamlined system.
A decision was expected to have been made by Judge Sheridan last week, but the Chairman of the Bar Council, Mr John MacMenamin SC, requested extra time to communicate new proposals made by the Minister for Justice to the criminal Bar.