Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 10:

In page 32, to delete line 24.

Notwithstanding the amount of text contained in these amendments, they are in reality very straightforward and, like many of the other amendments relating to this Bill, they are also quite technical. In essence, they introduce a further amendment into the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962 to cater specifically for the various scenarios which may arise where an appeal or application is before the Supreme Court and the appeal in question is subsequently dealt with by the Court of Appeal. They provide that, in the event that a legal aid (Supreme Court) certificate is in being, a legal aid (appeal) certificate or a legal aid (case stated appeal) certificate shall be deemed to have been granted in respect of the person who is the subject of the Court of Appeal proceedings. This is simply an efficiency measure which is intended to minimise the duplication which would otherwise ensue if a further hearing were to be necessary in relation to an application to obtain legal aid for the Court of Appeal case.

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