Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 November 2009
294 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the cost on a monthly basis of free legal aid in criminal cases over the past 60 months; the number of such cases involving members of organised crime gangs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40677/09]
View answerThe Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962 provides that free legal aid may be granted for the defence of persons of insufficient means in criminal proceedings. Jurisprudence since then has established as a Constitutional right the provision of aid in such circumstances. An applicant for criminal legal aid must establish to the satisfaction of the court that his/her means are insufficient to enable him/her to pay for legal aid and the court must also be satisfied that by reason of the "gravity of the charge" or "exceptional circumstances", it is essential in the interests of justice that the applicant should have legal aid. However, where the charge is one of murder or where an appeal is one from the Court of Criminal Appeal to the Supreme Court, free legal aid is granted merely on the grounds of insufficient means.
The courts, therefore, through the Judiciary, are responsible for the granting of legal aid. The Deputy will appreciate that eligibility for legal aid in criminal cases is determined by the Judge hearing the case and that I have no function in this regard. However, I have been concerned about the mounting expenditure on criminal legal aid. In that context, I am bringing forward a Bill to amend the current system with a view to ensuring that, while accused persons of insufficient means who are facing serious charges are entitled to have a defence provided for them, there are tight controls against any abuse of the scheme.
The Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009 created a new offence of directing or controlling a criminal organisation which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The maximum penalty for the offence of participation or involvement in organised crime has been increased from five years to 15 years imprisonment. While the Garda authorities are already making use of its provisions, it will take some time before they are in a position to bring criminals before the courts. It will remain a matter for the court to determine eligibility for criminal legal aid in respect of any charges brought under this new legislation.
The monthly expenditure on criminal legal aid from 2005 to end October 2009 is set out in tabular form below.
|
Criminal Legal Aid Expentiture Jan 2005-Oct 2009 |
|||||||||
|
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
To Oct 2009 |
|||||
|
Period |
Amount |
Period |
Amount |
Period |
Amount |
Period |
Amount |
Period |
Amount |
|
Jan-05 |
2,778,701.18 |
Jan-06 |
2,074,772.69 |
Jan-07 |
2,821,272.12 |
Jan-08 |
2,882,823.29 |
Jan-09 |
3,650,741.32 |
|
Feb-05 |
2,934,878.30 |
Feb-06 |
2,888,683.08 |
Feb-07 |
3,170,259.47 |
Feb-08 |
4,007,902.67 |
Feb-09 |
4,576,536.50 |
|
Mar-05 |
4,211,910.88 |
Mar-06 |
4,945,310.56 |
Mar-07 |
3,651,592.49 |
Mar-08 |
6,000,737.62 |
Mar-09 |
6,202,018.07 |
|
Apr-05 |
3,719,430.17 |
Apr-06 |
2,499,919.47 |
Apr-07 |
5,943,135.77 |
Apr-08 |
4,058,703.49 |
Apr-09 |
5,012,260.91 |
|
May-05 |
3,012,086.11 |
May-06 |
5,602,224.55 |
May-07 |
3,822,305.97 |
May-08 |
3,838,142.75 |
May-09 |
5,915,033.24 |
|
Jun-05 |
3,336,784.71 |
Jun-06 |
4,601,568.00 |
Jun-07 |
3,479,234.46 |
Jun-08 |
5,372,656.05 |
Jun-09 |
6,894,425.50 |
|
Jul-05 |
5,673,496.41 |
Jul-06 |
2,650,994.41 |
Jul-07 |
3,788,376.32 |
Jul-08 |
5,042,586.85 |
Jul-09 |
5,367,515.96 |
|
Aug-05 |
3,596,117.10 |
Aug-06 |
4,064,557.87 |
Aug-07 |
3,214,970.53 |
Aug-08 |
5,250,038.67 |
Aug-09 |
4,093,198.67 |
|
Sep-05 |
1,908,709.21 |
Sep-06 |
2,026,690.53 |
Sep-07 |
2,640,995.78 |
Sep-08 |
3,756,385.86 |
Sep-09 |
3,020,649.29 |
|
Oct-05 |
2,459,810.30 |
Oct-06 |
3,722,347.82 |
Oct-07 |
4,788,767.84 |
Oct-08 |
3,568,925.22 |
Oct-09 |
3,208,955.91 |
|
Nov-05 |
3,390,676.25 |
Nov-06 |
3,625,522.02 |
Nov-07 |
4,123,906.48 |
Nov-08 |
5,060,144.73 |
||
|
Dec-05 |
3,172,735.39 |
Dec-06 |
3,386,711.44 |
Dec-07 |
4,910,677.40 |
Dec-08 |
6,437,117.48 |
||
|
Total 2005 |
40,195,336.01 |
Total 2006 |
42,089,302.44 |
Total 2007 |
46,355,494.63 |
Total 2008 |
55,276,164.68 |
Total 2009 |
47,941,335.37 |
