Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yes, Vinny won the case but that was Hollywood. There are many Vinnys who do not win. The Innocence Project in America works with lots of people who claim they were badly represented. Indeed, there are people in jails in Ireland who would claim they were badly represented. What we want to make sure is that people are not deterred on the basis of fees and that fees are not intentionally driven down so as to make it almost impossible to mount a challenge on an environmental basis. That would be incredibly cynical and detrimental. As bad as the Green Party is - or as good as it is because it is quite effectual, I will give it that - it will not always be in government. I have learned from my limited time in here that governments change. There could well be a Government that is a lot more hostile to the environment and environmental challenges and a Minister who is determined to build a motorway to every provincial town in Ireland. Imagine how people would feel about it if they were involved in campaigns or legal challenges to those and they could not get lawyers to represent them because the fees were so bad. Even through the downturn we always made sure that there was an equality of arms with regard to criminal justice.

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