Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2026
545. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the system of compliance monitoring and oversight that has been in operation in respect of the criminal legal aid scheme by his Department during the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47752/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra546. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of applications for payment that were made to his Department in respect of certificates granted pursuant to Regulation 7(4) of the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Regulations, 1965 (S.I. No. 12/1965); the number of payments that were made on the basis of such claims for payment pursuant to Regulation (7)4, in each of the years 2021 to 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47753/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra547. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the amount paid to solicitors and barristers based upon legal aid certificates granted pursuant to Regulation 7(4) of the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Regulations 1965 (S.I. No. 12/1965), in each of the years 2021 to 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47754/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra548. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of applications for payment pursuant to Regulation 7(4) that have been made to his Department that were refused and the reason for the refusal, in each of the years 2021 to 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47755/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 545, 546, 547 and 548 together.
The Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962 provides that free legal aid may be granted in certain circumstances for the defence of persons of insufficient means in criminal proceedings, and it is the courts, through the judiciary, who are responsible for the granting of legal aid.
Regulation 7(4) of the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Regulations, 1965 (S.I. No. 12/1965) provides that if two or more certificates for legal aid are granted to a person and the cases in relation to which they are granted are heard together or in immediate succession, only one certificate is deemed to have been granted unless the Court, being satisfied that there is good reason for doing so, directs otherwise.
My Department does not have a record of the number of applications for criminal legal aid made, granted or refused pursuant to Regulation 7(4) or otherwise, as that is a matter for the court.
My Department is responsible for the administration of and payment to legal practitioners under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme and processes claims for payment against all legal aid certificates granted. Where Regulation 7(4) does not apply, only one certificate is payable while the remaining certificates assigned are recorded with nil payment. Where Regulation 7(4) does apply, claims for payment correctly filled out in relation to the separate certificates are processed and each certificate is payable.
As all legal aid certificates granted to the person are recorded on the payments system whether a payment is due or not pursuant to Regulation 7(4), this information is not recorded in such a way as to identify payments made specifically pursuant to Regulation 7(4).
The following table sets out the number and cost of criminal legal aid certificates granted in the District Court from 2021 to 2025. However, it should be noted that the expenditure in a given year does not necessarily correlate to the Legal Aid Certificates issued that year, as expenditure may relate to Legal Aid Certificates issued in previous years for which claims for payment were made in subsequent years.
|
Year |
Number of Criminal Legal Aid Certificates issued in the District Court |
Total Cost |
|
2021 |
80,831 |
€29,289,855 |
|
2022 |
81,025 |
€28,364,837 |
|
2023 |
87,668 |
€30,837,699 |
|
2024 |
98,230 |
€37,786,861 |
|
2025 |
98,617 |
€40,705,809 |
As outlined in the Programme for Government 2025, the Government has committed to reforming the operation of Criminal Legal Aid. The general scheme of the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Bill 2023 was published in July 2023. This Bill will modernise the operation of the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme and is intended to:
• Update the law relating to Criminal Legal Aid;
• Transfer administrative responsibility of the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme from the Department of Justice to the Legal Aid Board; and
• Strengthen oversight and governance structures for the Scheme.
