Fuel Sales
Dail Éireann — 2023-05-04
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Simon Harris (FG), Wicklow

I can inform the Deputy, that Criminal legal services are provided by private solicitors who have notified the relevant Court of their availability to undertake criminal legal aid work.  The courts, through the judiciary, are responsible for the granting of legal aid on application by the defence in court. My Department has no role in the granting of legal aid or in the appointment of solicitors to a case. The Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962 gives expression to the Constitutional right that free legal aid must be granted, in certain circumstances, for the defence of persons of insufficient means in criminal proceedings.
As per Regulation 4 of the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Regulations 1965 (S. I. No. 12 of 1965), each County Registrar maintains a list of tax compliant solicitors who are willing to act in that county for those to whom certificates for free legal aid are granted.
My Department is responsible for the payment of fees and expenses to the legal practitioners.
The total amount of fees paid to solicitors for the years requested are laid out in Table 1 and the top 10 recipient firms are listed in Table 2
Table 1: Fees paid to solicitors for criminal legal aid work
Table 2: Fees paid to Top 10 Solicitors
The breakdown of the top ten earning solicitors is not available for 2023.
Local authorities, nevertheless, have significant powers under environmental law, namely the new solid fuel regulations, to enforce the legal provisions aimed at preventing the marketing, distribution, sale and use of smoky coal in the State. The Deputy met a delegation of solid fuel merchants. Revenue officials would be happy to meet solid fuel supplier representative bodies and would be particularly interested in gathering any information on suspected tax evasion. They always welcome any information that representative bodies, suppliers or individuals may wish to share confidentially.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2023-05-04/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:51:51+00:00
Sitting date: 2023-05-04