Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026: Report and Final Stages
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-10
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Jim O'Callaghan (FF), Dublin Bay South

If Deputy Gannon wants to table it as a Topical Issue matter, I am happy to come in. The scheme that operates at present means that people get €260 for the first appearance and €60 for every appearance after that. That incentivises inefficiencies. Research has been completed in the Department that shows that the hearing of criminal cases in the District Court which are governed by the criminal legal aid scheme moves much more slowly than those which do not have the benefit of the criminal legal aid scheme. There are a number of anomalies, as I am sure the Deputy is aware, with certificates being granted for a whole series of offences in respect of the same person or indeed for a whole group of defendants who are effectively accused of the same type of offences and the same issue. I can assure Deputy Gannon that it needs to be reformed, but I am happy to come back to discuss it with him if he wants to table it as a Topical Issue matter.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-10/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-10