James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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146. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the current position of the criminal legal aid scheme for barristers which has not been subject to pay restoration arising from the FEMPI cuts and has remained static or reversed over the past 20 years; the impact this is having and will continue to have on availability of counsel to both defend and prosecute cases; if parity with other professions which have seen pay restoration will be provided; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36782/21]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy may be aware, responsibility for this matter rests with my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

That being said, my Department has been actively engaging with all relevant stakeholders, including the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, in relation to the restoration of fees to criminal defence barristers.

My Department is responsible for the payment of legal fees to defence counsel under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme while barristers instructed by the State to prosecute in criminal cases are paid by the Director of Public Prosecution. The Deputy will appreciate that the Director of Public Prosecutions is independent in the performance of her functions and does not come within the remit of my Department.

I understand the importance of this issue which is under consideration by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and will be examined further in the context of wider public pay policy and expenditure implications.

While I am not in a position to provide any further information at present, I trust that this clarifies the current position for you.