Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Regarding the resources, a number of people mentioned what is and is not available in courtrooms at the moment. The other issue relating to resources is separate representation for victims in court. This may be a question for the Department. Are there any plans to change the fact that representation is currently only available in the course of the cross-examination of a witness? Is it something that could be expanded to cover representation for that witness throughout the trial? The reality is the witness is a relevant person throughout the trial. Equally, the representatives of the witness should be paid on parity with the other lawyers in the case. The barristers who are briefed to attend for he prosecution or the defence get one fee and the barrister representing the victim gets a lesser fee. I have never understood why that disparity exists. Does the Department have any plan to change that?