asked the Minister for Finance if he will state whether, in consenting to the briefing on behalf of the State of a particular counsel in (a) civil, and (b) criminal cases, he institutes any inquiries to ascertain if such counsel will be available in court during the whole of the proceedings in respect of which he is briefed; whether such condition is or has been insisted on; whether his attention has been directed to the growing practice of counsel holding briefs for the State in respect of two or more cases which are being proceeded with simultaneously in different courts held at widely separated venues; and whether it is his intention to discontinue the payment of fees in respect of such cases.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Briefing of State Counsel.
The Minister for Finance has no function in the allocation of briefs to counsel appearing on behalf of the State so that the question of his consent does not arise. The briefing of counsel is a matter for the Attorney-General.
I understand that briefs are usually given out well in advance of the fixing of the court lists and that, consequently, it is not always possible for counsel to say with certainty that they will be available but, in all cases, the basis upon which counsel are briefed is that they will be in a position to attend at the hearing.
The Attorney-General is not aware of any practice whereby the same counsel is briefed in cases which are at hearing simultaneously in different courts held at widely separated venues. Every effort is made by the Attorney-General at the time of selecting counsel to ensure that no clash of engagements will arise. It does, however, occur at times that, owing to the arrangement of court lists or the unexpected termination of other proceedings, cases in which the same counsel are briefed come on for hearing on the same day. Where the cases are in the same court or where it appears likely that the cases will be taken at different times of the day, no difficulty arises; where, however, it is clear that counsel will not be in a position to attend at the hearing, the practice is that he returns his brief and another counsel is briefed in his place. Occasionally, where, owing to the unexpected listing of State cases, it is not practicable to brief another counsel, the counsel already briefed arrange, with the prior approval of the Attorney-General and in accordance with the usual practice of the Bar, that one of them shall attend to one case and the other counsel to the other, but there are the usual co-operation and consultation between the counsel as to the conduct and direction of such cases. The arrangement of court lists is dealt with by the appropriate court officers, and is not a matter within the control of the Attorney-General.
In general, fees are not paid to counsel in respect of two or more briefs in cases simultaneously at hearing and, indeed, any question of such payment can scarcely arise in view of the practice of the Attorney-General's office.