Update: Free Legal Aid, 8th June 2015

QUESTION NO:  273

DÁIL QUESTION  addressed to the Minister for Justice and Equality (Deputy Frances Fitzgerald)
by Deputy Bernard J. Durkan
for WRITTEN on Tuesday, 7th July, 2015.   

 
  *  To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which free legal aid remains available in respect of criminal cases to those who have re-offended while on bail; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

                                            – Bernard J. Durkan

 
REPLY.

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 in criminal proceedings.  Under the 1962 Act, the courts, through the judiciary, are responsible for the granting of legal aid.  An applicant must establish to the satisfaction of the court that their means are insufficient to enable them to pay for legal representation themselves.  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.  These are the criteria for access to legal aid under the Act and there is no limit placed on the number of times that a person can apply for legal aid.  I have no function in relation to individual judicial decisions regarding the granting of legal aid.

The Deputy will appreciate that an accused person who faces serious charges is entitled to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence and if they cannot afford to pay for legal representation, there is a right to 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 or, if they have insufficient means to pay for legal assistance, to be given it free when the interests of justice so require.  The Deputy will also appreciate that the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme must operate with due regard to these rights and that any unreasonable block on legal aid could give a convicted defendant an avenue for appeal or prohibition of the prosecution.  The overriding concern is to ensure that no risk arises in relation to the prosecution of persons charged with criminal offences before the courts.