2192. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration further to Parliamentary Question No. 588 of 14 July 2026, the changes made to District Court criminal legal aid fees in each year since 2015, outlining further for each year what the changes due to the reversal of FEMPI cuts were through fee restoration; the date on which each of those changes came into effect, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55633/26]

Under the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962, it is the Courts, through the judiciary, that are responsible for the granting of legal aid.

The Criminal Legal Aid Scheme is demand-led and it is for the courts to decide in any given case if legal aid is to be granted, therefore it is not possible to accurately predict the cost of the Scheme in any given year. However, I can advise that the total criminal legal aid expenditure for 2025 was €120.6 million including appearance fees and other fees and expenses.

As the Deputy will be aware, the then Minister introduced a 10% increase in fees on 1 January 2024. A further increase of 8% was applied to fees on 1 January 2025. Since then I have introduced a final 8% increase in criminal legal aid fees payable to solicitors and barristers in the Circuit Court and higher courts from 1 July 2026. This represents a full restoration of the so-called FEMPI cuts in line with the Programme for Government commitment. I also introduced a flat fee of €520 for District Court criminal cases under the criminal legal aid scheme. This figure represents the current fee paid for five appearances in the District Court plus an 8% increase.

The information is not recorded in such a way to provide the Deputy with the increase in expenditure in the District Court due to fee changes including those resulting from the reversal of so-called FEMPI cuts since 2015.