Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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1365. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons that have availed of free legal aid over each of the past five years by category of alleged crime; the proportion of them that have been convicted; the number of them that had previously been granted free legal aid in respect of other offences; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40020/21]

Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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1367. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the cost to the State of providing free legal aid over each of the past five years by county; the average cost per recipient; and the average payment to legal practitioners over the same period. [40022/21]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1365 and 1367 together.

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 a person who has insufficient means in criminal proceedings.

Under the Scheme, the courts, through the judiciary, are responsible for the granting of legal aid.

An applicant for legal aid must satisfy the court that their means are insufficient to enable them to pay for legal aid themselves.  The 1962 Act specifies that the court must also be satisfied that, by reason of the "gravity of the charge" or "exceptional circumstances", it is essential in the interests of justice that the applicant should have legal aid.

Criminal prosecutions originate in the District Court and if so satisfied, the Judge will grant a criminal legal aid certificate.

It is not possible to provide the data for the relevant years as figures are not kept in such a way as to be able to provide the breakdown requested.

However, expenditure data is available and the costs for the main Criminal Legal Aid Scheme for each of the years 2016 to 2021 (to end June) was as follows:

I hope this information is of assistance to the Deputy.

Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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1366. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the steps being considered by her Department to restrict access to free legal aid by repeat offenders including measures such as requiring them to pay a contribution towards the cost of their defence. [40021/21]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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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 people who have insufficient means in criminal proceedings.

Under the 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, or if they have insufficient means to pay for legal assistance to be given it free when the interests of justice so require. The Deputy will appreciate that the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme must operate with due regard to these rights and that any unreasonable block on legal aid could give a convicted defendant an avenue for appeal or prohibition of the prosecution.

The overriding concern is to ensure that due process is followed and that no risk arises in relation to the prosecution of a person charged with a criminal offence before the courts.

The assignment of lawyers or the granting of aid are matters for the Court and as such are handled by the judiciary on the applicant's appearance in court. Criminal prosecutions originate in the District Court and if satisfied it is so warranted, the District Court Judge presiding will grant a criminal legal aid certificate.

There is no limit to the number of times that a person can be granted legal aid under the scheme.  Whether or not an applicant has received legal aid previously is not a consideration in determining eligibility for legal aid and this information is not recorded by the Courts Service. An applicant's previous convictions are also not a criterion for the granting of criminal legal aid under the Act.

Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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1368. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the categories of victims of crime that are currently entitled to free legal aid; the number that have availed of this service by year; and her plans to extend this to other victims of crime. [40023/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy may be aware, the criminal legal aid scheme does not cover victims of crime - it only covers defendants. However, the Legal Aid Board does provide a free legal advice service to human trafficking victims and advice and representation in rape and some sexual assault cases.

Legal representation is provided to victims in cases of rape and aggravated sexual assault where an application to cross examine on past sexual history has been raised. The number of applications under this provision was 41 in 2019 and 16 in 2020.

Legal advice is provided to victims in sexual assault or rape cases and to victims of human trafficking referred to the Board by the Garda National Immigration Bureau. In such cases no means test is applied and no contribution is sought to receive legal advice.

In 2019 and 2020 only a small number availed of the advice service, three in 2019 and two in 2020.

As the Deputy may be aware, eligibility for civil legal aid is based on financial eligibility criteria and a test of the merits of the case. In general, a contribution must also be made in line with the individual's financial means. There are no categories of people who are eligible or ineligible but it relates to civil matters only.

My Department is leading on delivering a number of important commitments to make sure that we are responding effectively to the needs of victims of sexual violence. This includes the full implementation of the recommendations made in the O'Malley Review to better protect and support vulnerable witnesses during the investigation and prosecution of sexual offences.

Supporting a Victims Journey is a detailed roadmap for giving full effect to the O’Malley recommendations. It includes a commitment to provide for preliminary trial hearings and the recently enacted Criminal Procedure Act delivers on that commitment. This legislation introduces key changes to how questioning on prior sexual history will unfold at trial. Other than in exceptional circumstances, the Act requires an application to question a victim on their prior sexual history to be made at a preliminary trial hearing, before the commencement of the trial. This will be of great help to victims in removing uncertainty around what they may face.

The implementation of Supporting a Victim's Journey will also ensure the victim's right to have the same legal representation at the preliminary trial hearing and during the trial itself if an application to question them about prior sexual history is made at the preliminary trial hearing and is granted. In such a case, the recommendations also require the Legal Aid Board to endeavour to ensure that the victim is represented by counsel of a level of seniority similar to counsel representing the prosecution and defence.

The victim will also be entitled to their own, dedicated legal advice and support throughout the process (not just during the court case) and will be entitled to legal aid for this purpose.

In addition to the enactment of the Criminal Procedure Act, the full implementation of Supporting a Victim's Journey will require a number of legislative changes. In order to implement the rest of the required changes needed, a scoping exercise is currently being undertaken by my Department for a new Sexual Offences Bill.

The proposed amendments to the legislation dealing with sexual offences will need detailed consideration from a policy perspective. This will include engagement with stakeholders and careful assessment of implications and costings.

I envisage the General Scheme of this Bill will be brought to Cabinet by the end of 2021.