423. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the way he defines "a case" in the new flat fee payment model for criminal legal aid introduced on 1 July 2026; and the way this applies when an accused person is before the courts for separate and distinct offences committed on separate dates. [66557/26]

424. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the amount the State expects to save annually from the new payment model for the criminal legal aid scheme he introduced on 1 July 2026. [66556/26]

425. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the steps being taken to address the operational and financial impact on legal practitioners following the restructuring of the criminal legal aid scheme on 1 July 2026; if his attention has been drawn to concerns regarding the long-term viability of the system and the risk of reduced access to legal representation in smaller court venues; if consideration will be given to introducing judicial discretion to allow separate legal aid certificates for distinct cases, subject to a statutory cap or sliding scale; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66624/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 423, 424 and 425 together.

I fully recognise the critical role played by the legal professions in our criminal justice system, and it is important to state that criminal legal aid reform does not affect the ability of legal professionals to engage in criminal legal aid work. Neither is it intended to reduce the cost to the State of providing criminal legal aid. Rather, it will improve efficiencies, reduce unnecessary adjournments, simplify the administration of criminal legal aid, speed up case resolution and enable faster payments to practitioners, while ensuring that those accused of crimes are provided with the legal representation to which they are constitutionally entitled.

It should be noted that my Department has no involvement in the granting of free legal aid or the assignment of solicitors. These matters are handled entirely by the courts. 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.

The Review and Reform Proposal of the Criminal Legal Aid fee structure for the District Court, informed by a review carried out by my Department of data compiled by the Courts Service on approximately 350,000 District Court cases in the period 2022-2023, was published on 2 July 2026 The Review and Reform Proposal provides detail on the analysis conducted on these reforms.

It is my clear view that the old fee model was excessively complex, incentivised multiple hearings, delayed trials and was administratively burdensome and inefficient and risked undermining public confidence in the value of legal aid. To address these challenges, I introduced the new fee payment model. Under this new model, solicitors are being paid one fee per defendant, regardless of the number of appearances. This has removed the link between payments and the number of appearances or the number of accused represented on a given day.

Furthermore, the new fee is set at a rate that provides for full restoration of the so-called FEMPI cuts in line with the Programme for Government commitment. The fees payable to solicitors in the Circuit and Higher Courts increased by 8% from 1 July 2026 and where a case that starts in the District Court and is tried on indictment in the Circuit Court, the full €520 fee is paid for work carried out in the District Court in addition to increased Circuit and Higher Court fees. It should be noted that the flat fee has been set at a level intended to compensate for cases where multiple certificates would have been granted under the previous system.

Since the commencement of the new system, more than 1,800 new certificates for legal aid have issued. It is important to note that since the introduction of new regulations, multiple certificates have not been permitted. As such, since the two systems operate differently, it is not accurate to compare data year on year. Of the cases concluded under the new system since 1 July 2026, 75% concluded with one court appearance only and 99% of concluded cases were finalised within five appearances.

There has been ongoing engagement since October 2025 between officials in my Department, the Law Society and Bar Council and I in relation to the changes to the criminal legal aid fee structure, and my Department continues to keep the operation of the new criminal legal aid arrangements in the District Court under review.