Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

This matter was referred to during the Second Stage debate. This amendment inserts a new section into the Courts-Martial Appeals Act 1983 to include the referral of questions of law from a summary court martial to the court martial appeal court within the scope of legal aid. This is in line with the practice in the ordinary criminal law system. It was unfortunately omitted from the published Bill and we are correcting the error. I thank Members for their contributions in that regard.