Legal Aid

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 July 2023

Thursday, 13 July 2023

Questions (528, 529, 530, 531)

Noel Grealish

Question:

528. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Justice if she will consider steps to restrict the granting of free legal aid to serial or repeat offenders; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34833/23]

Noel Grealish

Question:

529. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons who have been granted free legal aid, by category of offence; the number of times these persons have availed of free legal aid previously; the number of previous convictions; the cost of each in the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34834/23]

Noel Grealish

Question:

530. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons who have been granted free legal-aid in County Galway, by category of offence; the number of times these persons have availed of free legal aid previously; the number of previous convictions; the cost of each in the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34835/23]

Noel Grealish

Question:

531. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Justice the cost of providing free legal aid over each of the past five years, by county; the average cost per alleged offender; the total payment to legal practitioners; the average payment to legal practitioners, over the same period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34836/23]

Written answers

Minister for Justice

I propose to take Questions Nos. 528, 529, 530 and 531 together.

It has not been possible to collate complete information as requested by the Deputy in the time allowed. I will write to the Deputy directly when the information is to hand.

Civil Legal Aid Schedule

The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 51.

I refer to your Parliamentary Questions, Numbers 528, 529, 530 and 531 for written answer on 13 July 2023 in which you asked the Minister – “if she will consider steps to restrict the granting of free legal aid to serial or repeat offenders; and if she will make a statement on the matter”

“the number of persons who have been granted free legal aid, by category of offence; the number of times these persons have availed of free legal aid previously; the number of previous convictions; the cost of each in the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

“the number of persons who have been granted free legal-aid in County Galway, by category of offence; the number of times these persons have availed of free legal aid previously; the number of previous convictions; the cost of each in the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

“the cost of providing free legal aid over each of the past five years, by county; the average cost per alleged offender; the total payment to legal practitioners; the average payment to legal practitioners, over the same period; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

The Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act, 1962, is the primary legislation covering the operation of the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme and gives effect to the Constitutional right that legal aid may be granted for the defence of persons of insufficient means in criminal proceedings.

Under the Scheme, the courts, through the judiciary, are responsible for the granting of legal aid. An applicant for legal aid must establish to the satisfaction of the court that their means are insufficient to enable them to pay for legal aid themselves. The 1962 Act specifies that 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. Criminal prosecutions originate in the District Court and if so satisfied, the Judge will grant a criminal legal aid certificate.

The Deputy will appreciate that the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme must operate with due regard to these human and constitutional rights and that any unreasonable block on legal aid could give a convicted defendant an avenue for appeal or prohibition of the prosecution.

The assignment of solicitors or the granting of aid are matters for the court and, as such are handled by the judiciary on the applicant's appearance in court. 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. An eligible applicant is entitled to legal representation for each case before the courts and their previous convictions are not a factor for the granting of criminal legal aid.

It is not possible to provide data by County, number of offenders, category or conviction rates for any of the requested years, as figures are not recorded in a way as to be able to provide such a breakdown.

However, expenditure data is available and the costs for the main Criminal Legal Aid Scheme for each of the years 2018 to 2023 (to end May) was as follows:

Year	Expenditure
2018	€64.8 million
2019	€65.1 million
2020	€62.2 million
2021	€73.4 million
2022	€76.4 million
2023	€36.3 million (end of Ma

Payments to legal practitioners for each of the years 2018 to 2022 was as follows:

-	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Solicitors	32.8M	34.4M	32.2M	40.2M	40M
Counsel	24.4M	23.1M	23.3M	27.9M	28.9M

The balance between overall expenditure and expenditure to the legal professionals is typically in the region of €7.5 million and comprises expenditure on technical experts, expert witnesses, and translation and interpretation costs.

I trust this information is of assistance.

Question No. 529 answered with Question No. 528.

Question No. 530 answered with Question No. 528.

Question No. 531 answered with Question No. 528.