Written answer
Legal Aid
556. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of accused persons his Department anticipates will be unable to secure legal representation in the District Court following the introduction of the single set-fee model on 1 July 2026; the modelling underlying that estimate; and, if no such estimate has been made, the reason no assessment was undertaken prior to the introduction of the reform; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48937/26]
Comment on this
557. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether any review, evaluation or value-for-money analysis of the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme has been published since the IGEES review completed in 2018; whether the internal review of 350,000 District Court cases from 2022 and 2023 repeatedly referenced by the Minister in communications on this topic was externally validated or peer-reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48942/26]
Comment on this
558. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration further to the refusal to publish the internal review of 350,000 District Court cases from 2022 and 2023 on the grounds that the underlying dataset contains personal information, whether he will publish the aggregated and anonymised findings, neither of which constitutes personal data for the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48943/26]
Comment on this
559. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether he will publish the terms of reference, methodology, data sources and assumptions used in the review of 350,000 District Court cases, including how “unnecessary adjournments” were defined and measured; if the review analysed had any difference in the nature; the extent of adjournments sought by the prosecution in cases with criminal legal aid compared to those without, given that this material does not contain personal data and was not addressed by the publication refusal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48944/26]
Comment on this
560. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration further to Parliamentary Question No. 201 of 25 March 2026, which did not state the proposed fee, the precise set fee to be paid per defendant under the reformed District Court Criminal Legal Aid scheme; the reduced fee payable where a matter is sent forward or returned for trial; whether any appearances beyond those notionally covered by the set fee will attract no further payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48945/26]
Comment on this
561. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the review’s comparison of legally-aided cases (313 days, 5 appearances) with non-aided cases (133 days, 3 appearances) controlled for charge seriousness, indictable versus summary disposal, plea, contested status, employment and homeless status of the accused, the existence of mental health issues that might reasonably be foreseen to cause additional delays, and custody risk, given that legal aid is granted precisely where loss of liberty is at risk; what definition of “outcomes” was applied in concluding that outcomes are “similar”; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48946/26]
Comment on this
562. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the projected additional cost arising from adjournments, appeals and judicial review proceedings brought by or on behalf of unrepresented accused following the reform, net of any efficiency gain, given his statement that the reform is “not intended to reduce the cost to the State”; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48947/26]
Comment on this
563. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether the Office of the Attorney General was consulted in relation to the compatibility of the proposed reforms with Article 38.1 of the Constitution and Article 6 ECHR; whether any constitutional or legal concerns were raised during the development of the proposal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48951/26]
Comment on this
577. Deputy William Aird asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the status of any ongoing negotiations to resolve the withdrawal of legal services over the civil legal aid fee in the Courts Services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49058/26]