Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 185: To ask the Taoiseach if he will set out in tabular form the brief fee for prosecuting junior counsel in respect of indictable trials in the Circuit Court for each year from 2001 to date in 2006; and where there is an increase, the yearly percentage increase on a yearly basis. [20086/06]

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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A table showing the standard brief fee paid to junior counsel for the prosecution of indictable offences in the Circuit Court from 2001 to date is set out below. This table shows increases paid and the effective dates of those increases. No increase has been paid in 2006 although an increase of 2.5% is planned from 1 June, 2006.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 186: To ask the Taoiseach the amount paid to prosecuting counsel in the conducting of criminal business appearing on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions in respect of areas (details supplied) hereto for the year 2005 distinguishing between the amount paid to prosecuting junior counsel and prosecuting senior counsel. [20090/06]

Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)
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Details of the amounts paid to prosecuting counsel appearing on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions are not recorded in respect of the areas for which details were supplied. Rather such payments are recorded on a county-by-county basis. Information with regard to payments made to junior and senior counsel in 2005 for prosecutions in the Circuit and Central Criminal Courts are shown below. Extracting information with regard to payments made to counsel for District Court prosecutions would involve a manual examination of all payment records and would be prohibitively expensive. I can inform the Deputy, however, that payments to counsel for prosecution work in the District Court would only occur in exceptional circumstances.

In most cases, the areas specified by the Deputy correspond to counties. While payment information is not recorded for the specific areas referred to by the Deputy, it has been possible in the cases of three counties where a more detailed breakdown was sought to provide additional information. Details of this expenditure for the year 2005 are set out below.

In the case of five counties (Kildare, Limerick, Cork, Galway and Tipperary), the Deputy has requested a further breakdown by region but this information cannot be obtained for all these counties. The counties for which a breakdown is available with regard to Circuit Court fees are as follows;

(i) Kildare where 63% of fees paid relate to Kildare South and 37% relate to Kildare North/Wicklow.

(ii) Limerick where 91% of fees paid relate to Limerick City and 9% to Limerick County.

(iii) Cork where 79% of fees paid relate to Cork City and 21% to Cork county (no breakdown is available for the four separate regions of Cork County).

(iv) Galway — no breakdown by region is available.

(v) Tipperary — no breakdown by region is available.

I would further inform the Deputy that the figures for Limerick include a deferred payment of approximately €150,000 made in 2005 in respect of prosecutions in Limerick city in earlier years.