Barry Ward (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I do not deny that the fees were cut at a time when there was a need to make cuts. It is not the case that criminal and legal aid fees were responsible for escalating legal costs, given that they are controlled by the Government so that is an aspect that is not relevant. Even if it were the case that the Government cannot identify a looming crisis, that is not a good enough reason not to restore these fees. All of the fees paid to professionals whether an architect, psychologist or whatever have been restored but for some reason, the Government refuses to restore the fees paid to criminal legal aid practitioners.

To put this matter in context, if a barrister appears in a District Court for a case then he or she is paid a rate of €25.20 for the privilege plus VAT for however long he or she works that day. It is also a reality that he or she will also have to wait for the solicitor to receive his or her payment before the split fee is passed to the barrister. There is a thing that the Government can do without increasing fees at all and that is to provide a direct payment for barristers out of the District Court, for example, in the same way that they get in the Circuit Court, the Central Criminal Court and other courts. That could be done to ease the burden, particularly on junior barristers. Just because we have not yet seen this crisis coming does not mean that it will not come. It would be a grave mistake for the Government to wait until practitioners have deserted criminal law in their droves to decide to fix the problem. As we know that the crisis is coming, I implore the Government to fix it now please.