856. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of criminal legal aid certificates granted in the District Court, by county, for the months of July and August 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64714/26]

857. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of criminal legal aid certificate granted in the District Court, by county for the months of July and August 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter [64713/26]

858. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of criminal legal aid certificates granted in the District Court to date in 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64712/26]

859. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of criminal legal aid certificates granted in the District Court in August 2025 and August 2026, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64711/26]

860. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of criminal legal aid certificates granted in the District Court in July 2025 and July 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64710/26]

900. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the total number of resignations received from the Criminal Legal Aid panel since 1 July 2026. [65074/26]

904. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the number of criminal legal aid certificates issued in each month of 2025 and in each month to date in 2026, in tabular form. [65054/26]

915. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the methodology and underlying calculation used by his Department to produce the 'weighted average number of appearances’ (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65138/26]

926. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration whether he will engage in dialogue with legal practitioners to bring the current legal aid scheme dispute to an end. [65333/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 856 to 860, inclusive, 900, 904, 915 and 926 together.

The Review and Reform Proposal of the Criminal Legal Aid fee structure for the District Court, published on 2 July 2026, provides detail on the analysis conducted on more than 350,000 District Court cases which took place during 2022 and 2023. Review and Reform Proposal of the Criminal Legal Aid Fee Structure for the District Court: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-justice-home-affairs-and-migration/publications/review-and-reform-proposal-of-the-criminal-legal-aid-fee-structure-for-the-district-court/

There has been ongoing engagement between officials in my Department and the Law Society and Bar Council in relation to changes to the criminal legal aid fee structure since October 2025. I met with the Law Society of Ireland in July and listened to the issues raised by criminal practitioners regarding the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme which commenced on 1 July 2026 and corresponded with them on a number of occasions, most recently yesterday.

On foot of that engagement and at the request of the Law Society, I agreed to pay two thirds of the new €520 fee at the commencement of a case, with the remaining third to be paid at the conclusion of the case or after 12 months, whichever is earlier. The fee of €520, up from €455, is equivalent to the payment for 5 appearances in a case under the old system, adjusted to reverse the outstanding 8% cut under FEMPI. In addition, I agreed to increase the proposed fee for District Court cases going to the Circuit or higher courts from €100 to €520 and also introduced a separate fee of €80 for certificates issued following the execution of bench warrants.

I received a letter from the Law Society on 8 September requesting the appointment of an independent mediator and have responded.

While it is regrettable that some criminal practitioners withdrew their services while discussions between my Department of Justice and the Law Society were ongoing and in advance of the final proposals being made, the Department is aware that there are currently over 600 solicitors on the Criminal Legal Aid Panel, with 24 having reapplied to join. The Department is also aware that some solicitors who resigned from the panel have been assigned certificates in the last few weeks, and my officials are in the process of contacting these solicitors to make sure they are reinstated. Since the commencement of the new system and up to 10 September 2026, over 1,400 new certificates for legal aid have issued.

My Department continues to keep the operation of the new criminal legal aid arrangements in the District Court under review following their introduction. As part of this review process, I have already indicated the possibility of considering modifications to reflect the distinct nature of cases that may require a large number of hearings, such as cases before the Children’s Court and remand hearings.

Management of the courts, operational matters such as the allocation of court business, the scheduling of cases and logistical functions are the responsibility of the judiciary and Courts Service, which are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998 and given the separation of powers in the Constitution.

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 Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration has no involvement in the granting of free legal aid or the assignment of solicitors. These matters are handled entirely by the courts.

Information requested in relation to the issuance of criminal legal aid certificates by the Courts should be directed to the Courts Service. The Courts Service has a dedicated email address for the provision of information to members of the Houses of the Oireachtas, at oireachtasenquiries@courts.ie.