Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 January 2017
122. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality her plans to streamline the legal aid process to enable one application to cover the inclusion of a solicitor on the legal aid panel for all counties rather than the current situation whereby each county operates their own system of paperwork and applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2958/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraRegulation No. 4 of Statutory Instrument No. 12 of 1965, the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Regulations 1965 provides that each County Registrar shall compile a list of solicitors willing to act for legally aided persons in their county. In a recent audit of the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme conducted by my Department’s Internal Audit Unit a recommendation was made that it would be preferable to put in place a single central panel to be maintained by the Courts Service.
The County Registrars and the Courts Service have been consulted and my Department has commenced work on the drafting of the necessary amending Statutory Instrument to effect this change.
