Criminal Legal Aid PQ 17/07/2013

QUESTION NO: 904

DÁIL QUESTION addressed to the Minister for Justice and Equality (Mr. Shatter)
by Deputy Paudie Coffey
for WRITTEN on Tuesday, 16th July, 2013.
* To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the total cost of the free legal aid service that the State provides on annual basis for the years 2010, 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

– Paudie Coffey
REPLY.
I can inform the Deputy that the provision of legal aid falls within two separate categories, i.e criminal legal aid and civil legal aid. Details in respect of each category are as follows:

Civil Legal Aid
The Legal Aid Board (LAB) is the statutory body which provides legal aid and advice in civil law matters to persons on lower incomes. All Board services are governed by the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 and the Civil Legal Aid Regulations. I wish to clarify for the Deputy that the Legal Aid Board provides ‘legal aid’ and not ‘free legal aid’. The vast majority of persons receiving services from the Board pay a small financial contribution.

In respect of civil legal aid, Exchequer funding is provided by way of grant-in-aid to the Legal Aid Board. The relevant amounts allocated are set out hereunder.
Year Total Amount of Expenditure
(€ million)
2010      32.192
2011      30.370
2012      32.922
2013 –    to date 19.384

It should be noted that the figures for 2012 onwards include funding in respect of the Family Mediation Service, for which the Board assumed responsibility in late 2011. The full year allocation for 2013, as set out in the Revised Estimates Volume, is €32,659,000.
Criminal Legal Aid
The Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962 provides that free legal aid may be granted, in certain circumstances, for the defence of persons of insufficient means. Under the Act, the grant of legal aid entitles the applicant to the services of a solicitor and, in certain circumstances, up to two counsel, in the preparation and conduct of their defence or appeal. The assignment of lawyers or the granting of aid are matters for the Court and, as such, are handled by the judiciary.

Total expenditure on criminal legal aid for the years referred to by the Deputy is detailed below.

Year Total Amount of Expenditure
(€ million)
2010      56.5
2011      56.1
2012      50.5
2013 –    to date 25.6

The Deputy will note that total expenditure for 2012 represented a reduction of 10% over 2011. This reduction in the annual expenditure is the largest ever recorded and represents a fall of approximately €10 million, or 16%, over the peak recorded in 2009. This follows savings measures introduced since I came into office including cuts to fees in the course of 2011.

QUESTION NO: 905

DÁIL QUESTION addressed to the Minister for Justice and Equality (Mr. Shatter)
by Deputy Paudie Coffey
for WRITTEN on Tuesday, 16th July, 2013.
* To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the total amount of money that has been recouped by the free legal aid service on an annual basis for the years 2010, 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

– Paudie Coffey
REPLY.
As the Deputy may be aware the provision of legal aid falls within two separate categories, i.e criminal legal aid and civil legal aid. Details in respect of each category are as follows:

Civil Legal Aid

The Legal Aid Board (LAB) is the statutory body which provides legal aid and advice in civil law matters to persons on lower incomes. All Board services are governed by the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 and the Civil Legal Aid Regulations. I wish to clarify for the Deputy that the Legal Aid Board provides ‘legal aid’ and not ‘free legal aid’. The vast majority of persons receiving services from the Board pay a small financial contribution.

The Legal Aid Board recoups money from its clients in two ways. Contributions are received from clients towards the cost of the service with the amount of the contribution dependent on the client’s disposable income and disposable capital, if any. In addition, the Board may recover its costs in certain cases where an award or settlement has been received by the client. The relevant amounts received by the Board are set out hereunder for the years in question.

Year Contributions (€) Costs (€)
2010      844,201                    921,717
2011      809,967                    974,331
2012      832,292                    685,873
2013      (to date)421,948     429,473

Criminal Legal Aid

The Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962 provides that free legal aid may be granted, in certain circumstances, for the defence of persons of insufficient means. Under the Act, the grant of legal aid entitles the applicant to the services of a solicitor and, in certain circumstances, up to two counsel, in the preparation and conduct of their defence or appeal. The assignment of lawyers or the granting of aid are matters for the Court and, as such, are handled by the judiciary.

The Deputy should note that there is no recoupment of money from defendants under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme.