Skip to main content
Normal View

Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 26 Nov 1996

Vol. 472 No. 1

Written Answers. - Free Legal Aid.

Cecilia Keaveney

Question:

228 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Minister for Justice the number of individuals who availed of the free legal aid facility in each of the years from 1990 to 1996; and the funding involved on a county by county basis. [22533/96]

The criminal legal aid scheme is administered by my Department. The civil legal aid scheme is administered by the Department of Equality and Law Reform. The granting of legal aid is a matter for the courts having regard to the provisions of the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act, 1962.

Court records are maintained on the basis of the legal year which runs from 1 August to 31 July. The following information in relation to the granting of criminal legal aid in the District Court is available:

Year

Number of Legal Aid Certificates granted

Number of persons in respect of whom Certificates were granted

1989/90

41,029

17,302

1990/91

34,917

16,303

1991/92

36,718

18,683

1992/93

43,602

22,247

1993/94

48,634

21,766

1994/95

45,853

22,605

I am informed that the figures for the number of persons in respect of whom certificates were granted in the District Court do not equate to the precise number of individuals involved as some persons would receive legal aid on more than one occasion during a year.
Information in relation to the number of persons granted legal aid in the Circuit, Central Criminal and Special Criminal Courts is not readily available but is being sought and will be forwarded to the Deputy when it becomes available.
The total cost of the Criminal Legal Aid scheme, which includes the fees and expenses paid to solicitors and barristers and the fees payable to witnesses, in respect of the years 1990 to 1995 is as follows:

Year

Total Cost

Year

Total Cost

£m

£m

1990

2.69

1991

3.15

1992

3.87

1993

5.99

1994

7.04

1995

7.99

The information sought by the Deputy in relation to the funding involved in the scheme on a county by county basis is not readily available and could only be compiled by the allocation of scarce staff resources which would not be warranted.
Top
Share