Mr. Simon Donagh:

That was one of the questions asked earlier by the Senator's colleague, Senator Ruane. She was querying why it is that someone might get two counsel instead of one. The Ladybird version of it in Byrne and McCutcheon on the Irish Legal System sets out the very good general rule that in the District Court, you would normally get a solicitor; in the Circuit Court, you would normally get one barrister and one solicitor; and in the Central Criminal Court, you would normally get two barristers and one solicitor. That simply reflects that as you go up the court hierarchy, the threshold and seriousness of cases goes up. That is a presumptive minimum entitlement. As the Senator knows, the Circuit Court deals with almost every indictable offence with the exception of rape or murder so there is an obvious need for discretion. In any given Circuit Court case, there may well be a need to expand that entitlement, the obvious example being offences that carry maximum life sentences, such as drug offences and complex financial crime. Even though they are not in the Central Criminal Court, such cases clearly warrant two counsel. Likewise, many cases would require multiple counsel.