Legal Aid

Tuesday, 28 July 2026

Ceisteanna (2208, 2210, 2211, 2212, 2213, 2240)

Ken O'Flynn

Ceist:

2208. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the Departmental analysis of case duration under the criminal legal aid scheme, including the comparison of 313 calendar days for legal aid cases against 133 days for non-legal aid cases, distinguished between adjournments caused by prosecution disclosure delays, Garda file delays, waiting times for expert reports and psychiatric assessments, interpreter availability, and defendant vulnerability, and adjournments attributable to the conduct of defence solicitors; if not, the reason the Department attributes the differential to the fee structure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56142/26]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Ken O'Flynn

Ceist:

2210. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether a regulatory impact assessment was carried out before the introduction of the flat fee model for criminal legal aid; whether that assessment examined the withdrawal of practitioners from civil legal aid family law work following comparable fee pressures; the contingency planning undertaken by the Department for the risk of large scale withdrawal from the Criminal Legal Aid panel; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56144/26]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Ken O'Flynn

Ceist:

2211. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the date on which the Department first notified the Law Society of Ireland of the proposal to introduce a flat fee model for criminal legal aid; the date of the public announcement of that proposal; the number and dates of meetings held with the Law Society and practitioner representatives between those dates and 1 July 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56145/26]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Ken O'Flynn

Ceist:

2212. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the Department's review of over 350,000 District Court cases from 2022 and 2023, cited as the evidential basis for the flat fee reform of the criminal legal aid scheme, categorised the causes of adjournments; the proportion of adjournments attributable respectively to the defence, the prosecution, delays in disclosure, delays in directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions, delays in Forensic Science Ireland certificates, the non-production of accused persons from custody, and delays in probation and restorative justice reports; and whether the Department will publish this review in full. [56166/26]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Ken O'Flynn

Ceist:

2213. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether his Department, in concluding that legally aided cases take longer to resolve than privately retained cases, controlled for the gravity and complexity of the offences involved, given that the seriousness of the offence is a criterion applied by the presiding judge in granting legal aid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56167/26]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Ken O'Flynn

Ceist:

2240. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of meetings held between the Department and the Law Society of Ireland on the criminal legal aid fee structure since 1 July 2026; the dates of same; whether any proposal to amend the flat fee model has been placed before the Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56483/26]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration

I propose to take Questions Nos. 2208, 2210, 2211, 2212, 2213 and 2240 together.

It has not been possible to collate the information requested by the Deputy in the time available. I will write to the Deputy directly once the information is to hand.