Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 2 June 2004
224 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the action he has taken on the report from Judge Buchanan on criminal legal aid; if the report can be made available to the public; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16760/04]
View answerThe criminal legal aid review committee, under the chairmanship of Judge Buchanan, was established to review the operation of the criminal legal aid scheme and to make recommendations as to the manner in which the scheme might be improved so that it operated effectively and provided value for money.
In its first report, entitled An Examination of the Feasibility of Introducing a Public Defender System for Ireland, which was published in February 2000, the committee recommended that the existing system for providing criminal legal aid was the most equitable, effective and economic at that time. The committee also examined the issue of whether a fee should be paid to solicitors for consultations with persons detained in Garda stations and made an interim report to the Department. On foot of the committee's recommendations, the Garda station legal advice scheme was introduced in February 2001.
In its second and final report, which was published in February 2002, the committee examined a number of issues. It examined, inter alia, the merit of providing the criminal legal aid service by way of contracting and by way of a duty solicitor scheme. The committee did not recommend the introduction of contracting or a duty solicitor scheme for providing criminal legal aid. The committee’s recommendation to incorporate the criminal provisions of the non-statutory Attorney General’s scheme into the criminal legal aid scheme is being discussed with the Attorney General’s office.
