asked the Minister for Justice if he will consider the establishment of an office of State defender similar to that of State prosecutor.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - State Defender Office.
16.
I presume the Deputy means by State defender an officer who would be responsible for the defence of persons accused of crimes. I do not see the necessity for such an office and I have no proposals whatever in this regard. Our system of free legal aid in criminal matters is designed to protect the interests of accused persons in need of such aid by making the services of an independent legal professional available to them. A system under which the State both prosecutes and defends in criminal cases would be completely out of accord with the traditions of our system of justice.
In view of the reply the Minister gave to Question No. 14 and the Government's decision as announced in the papers to take the responsibility of prosecution away from the Attorney General and set up an office of State prosecutor, should not the ordinary individual who might be short of finance be given the same opportunity of being defended as of being prosecuted?
The Deputy was not listening to my reply. He should know that a system of free legal aid in criminal cases is already available and has been available for several years.
In civil matters I am aware that charities such as Saint Vincent de Paul have to come to the assistance of people to get justice and I am asking the Minister would the Government not take this responsibility?
In my reply to Question No. 14 I indicated that I am setting up a committee to examine this question of legal aid and make recommendations on its implementation.