The director general of the Law Society has warned that if industrial action by solicitors and legal officers at the Chief State Solicitors Office was not resolved quickly it would disrupt all prosecution and litigation cases involving the State.
Mr Ken Murphy said "the disruptions could be very substantial", as the action by 60 solicitors and 37 legal officers began yesterday.
The CSSO workers are refusing to answer phones or work outside their official hours, in support of increasing staffing levels. Withdrawing after-hours work would hit hardest, as much of it involves preparing books of evidence, court lists and processing High Court bail applications, the IMPACT industrial relations officer, Ms Louise O'Donnell, said.
The Law Society and the Garda had no reports of disruption on the first day of the dispute. The workers have warned they will escalate the dispute if their demands are not met.
CSSO staff believe the office is understaffed by at least 20 per cent. The Chief State Solicitor, Mr Michael Buckley, told the Public Accounts Committee recently that 97 more staff would be needed to bring levels up to private sector norms. There were only 12 solicitors to cover 16 district courts, the union said.
The fact that such limited industrial action could have a major effect on the workings of the courts demonstrated how badly understaffed the courts service was, Ms O'Donnell said.
"Existing pay rates and poor promotional opportunities mean staff are leaving faster than they can be replaced. In the meantime, the system relies on staff working extra hours for nothing."
IMPACT officials met Mr Buckley yesterday to clarify their position. Talks to try to resolve the staffing crisis began last October but had achieved nothing so far, Ms O'Donnell claimed.
A future escalation of the dispute could take the form of workers refusing to accept e-mail or faxes, or refusing to photocopy documents, she added.