Vol. 400 No. 9
168 Mr. Noonan (Limerick East) asked the Minister for Justice whether the decision by the Supreme Court in a case (details supplied) puts an obligation on him to extend the free legal aid scheme to all those with a constitutional right to access to a solicitor, who are unable to pay for the service; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The Supreme Court case in question was concerned with the right which a person has to access to a solicitor when detained for questioning in a Garda station. It was not concerned with the issue of legal aid.
The present statutory legal aid scheme enables legal aid to be granted by the courts to persons charged before them with serious offences, if their means are insufficient to pay for legal representation.
