Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)

I ask the Taoiseach to advise the House of his intentions as to when he will introduce the criminal justice (legal aid) Bill and what he envisages it will contain. There are serious problems with the legal aid system as it currently exists. It is costing the State a fortune. Nobody challenges legal aid applications in court. There is no incentive for the defence or the prosecution to do so and generally judges just accept the word of the defence. There is no scrutiny of how legal aid is awarded or whether it is awarded at all. The 1962 Act sets out no criteria for eligibilty for legal aid. I am interested to hear the Taoiseach's views on how he proposes to deal with this issue. Repeat offenders are receiving legal aid on eight, nine or ten occasions. People are being investigated by the Criminal Assets Bureau but are still in receipt of legal aid. There is absolutely no effort made by the Government to address the issue. It is something which is exercising the public and which is morally wrong. I would like to hear how or when the Taoiseach intends to address the issue.

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