Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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106. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the cost to the Exchequer of providing free legal aid in 2013; and if she will provide in tabular form by county a breakdown of the payments made to solicitors and barristers in 2013, including the names of the firms and persons concerned; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42326/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I wish to inform the Deputy that the provision of legal aid falls within two separate categories, i.e civil legal aid and criminal legal aid. Details in respect of each category are outlined as follows.

Criminal Legal Aid

The Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962, which is the primary legislation covering the operation of the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme, provides that free legal aid may be granted, in certain circumstances, for the defence of persons of insufficient means in criminal proceedings.

Under the 1962 Act, the courts, through the judiciary, are responsible for the granting of legal aid. Under the Constitution, the State is obliged to provide an accused person with the means to obtain appropriate legal representation. Moreover, the European Convention on Human Rights provides that every person charged with a criminal offence is entitled to defend themselves in person or through legal assistance of their own choosing, if they have insufficient means to pay for legal assistance, to be given it free when the interests of justice so require.

Expenditure on criminal legal aid in 2013 was €50.8 million. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of expenditure on a county basis as the majority of barristers addresses are recorded as being at the Law Library, Dublin 7.

Civil Legal Aid

In respect of civil legal aid, this is provided by the Legal Aid Board, an independent State agency. Persons availing of civil legal aid pay a contribution towards the service, with some exceptions, so it is not a free service per se. Exchequer funding is provided by way of a grant-in-aid to the Board. In 2013, this grant amounted to €33.759 million in the year. The service is primarily provided through the Board's law centre network and by its own solicitors, although private practitioners on the Board's panels are engaged to provide a complementary service by the Board, mainly in District Court family law matters. In addition to this the Board may engage the services of Barristers in cases where it is considered necessary. Members of the panels for private practitioners and barristers may provide services in a number of counties. It is not possible to give a breakdown of costs by county.

Due to the large amount of data involved, the information sought by the Deputy regarding payments to solicitors and barristers does not lend itself to inclusion here. This information will be forwarded to the Deputy under separate cover.