611. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the total criminal legal aid expenditure in each of the past ten years; the number of practitioners undertaking criminal legal aid work in each year; and the average fee paid per criminal legal aid case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51891/26]

Under the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962, it is the Courts, through the judiciary, that are responsible for the granting of legal aid. There has been a significant increase in the granting of legal aid certificates over the past number of years with a corresponding increase in expenditure.

The tables below set out the cost of Criminal Legal Aid from 2015 to 2025.

My Department significantly simplified the procedures for Criminal Legal Aid panel membership both for solicitors and counsel last year by waiving the requirement to apply yearly to be retained on panels, with the commencement on 26 November 2025 of S.I. 539 of 2025.

Solicitors may apply to the Court Service to be placed on the Criminal Legal Aid panel for any county using a single application form, which is processed by a centralised courts office in Castlebar, Co. Mayo. This system, introduced in 2021, replaced the previous requirement to apply separately to individual local court offices.

In order to be added to the Barristers panel, a barrister will advise the Bar Council of their willingness to accept instructions and the Bar Council in turn informs my Department.

The table below sets out the number of solicitors and barristers assigned to the Criminal Legal Aid Panel from 2015 to 2025. Not all solicitors and barristers who are panel members may undertake work under the Scheme in any given year.

The information is not recorded in such a way to provide the Deputy with an average fee paid per criminal legal aid case.