Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 April 2014
462. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide a breakdown on free legal aid costs on a county basis; the number of persons who are in receipt of legal aid repeatedly; the categories that these recipients are in; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16658/14]
View answerThe information is as follows.
Criminal Legal Aid
The Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962, which is the primary legislation covering the operation of the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, provides that free legal aid may be granted, in certain circumstances, for the defence of persons of insufficient means in criminal proceedings.
Under the 1962 Act, the courts, through the judiciary, are responsible for the granting of legal aid. Under the Constitution, the State is obliged to provide an accused person with the means to obtain appropriate legal representation. Moreover, the European Convention on Human Rights provides that every person charged with a criminal offence is entitled to defend themselves in person or through legal assistance of their own choosing, if they have insufficient means to pay for legal assistance, to be given it free when the interests of justice so require.
My Department is responsible for the payment of fees and expenses to the legal practitioners. I have no function in the day to day operation of the scheme, the assignment of lawyers or the granting of aid which are matters for the court and, as such, are handled by the judiciary.
There is no limit to the number of times that a person can be granted legal aid under the scheme. Whether or not an applicant has received legal aid previously is not a consideration in determining eligibility for legal aid and such information is not recorded by the Courts Service.
Expenditure on criminal legal aid in 2013 was €50.8 million. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of expenditure on a county basis as the majority of barristers addresses are recorded as being at the Law Library, Dublin 7. In seeking to reduce the expenditure on the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, the rates of fees paid to the legal practitioners were reduced by 8% in March, 2009, by a further 8% in April, 2010 and by 10% in October, 2011. The reductions in the rates of fees paid has not impacted on the numbers of persons availing of aid with the number of legal aid certificates granted remaining relatively constant over the last five years.
Civil Legal Aid
As regards civil legal aid, this is provided by the Legal Aid Board, which is a statutory independent agency. The Board provides legal services through its nationwide network of law centres and also uses private solicitors to complement this service. The Board received a grant-in-aid of €33.759 million from the Exchequer last year. I am advised that the Board does not produce figures which would allow overall costs to be identified on a county basis. Further information on the Board's finances can be seen in its annual reports (available on www.legalaidboard.ie).
Whilst it is not unusual for an applicant to access civil legal aid services more than once, particularly in family law matters, applicants do not tend to be in receipt of civil legal aid repeatedly. It should be noted that each and every application for civil legal aid is subject to a means test and a merits test, in line with the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995, and the associated Regulations.
