Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

According to the Minister 's reply to a question I tabled last September on criminal legal aid in 2011, 148 practitioners were paid a minimum of €100,000 each, out of a total of 1,565 practitioners, which would equate to about 26% of the total budget of €56 million. This is based on the assumption that they each only received €100,000 although I presume some would have received more than that sum. In the context of the promised legislation, will the Minister look at the costs associated with the free legal aid scheme? A budget of €56.1 million is quite considerable and 148 practitioners received €14.8 million between them, which is a lot of money in these times.

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