540. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of solicitors who have formally resigned or withdrawn from the criminal legal aid panel since 1 July 2026, broken down by county; the number of solicitors currently on the panel in each county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53076/26]

Solicitors may apply 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.

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.

While there is only one national Criminal Legal Aid Panel, solicitors may indicate specific counties where they are willing to provide representation but this does not preclude the solicitor from providing representation in other counties. As the panel is considered national, information is not recorded in a manner that provides for a ‘by county’ breakdown.

I can inform the Deputy that the total number of solicitors on the Criminal Legal Aid panel as of close of business on 9 July 2026 was 776, that the total number of resignations received by close of business on 9 July 2026 was 76, and that the number of new applications received to be added to the panel  by close of business on 9 July was 4.