The proposal would end a complicated sliding scale of payments linked to the number of defendants, appearances and legal aid certificates. Some defendants who believed they had been granted legal aid had informed the department they were also being charged privately by their solicitor, which is prohibited under legal aid rules. Rising expenditure is driven by factors including an increase in offences that more frequently attract legal aid, increased granting of multiple legal aid certificates and a “disproportionately high” number of appearances in criminal legal aid cases, the review said. Cases with legal aid take an average 313 days to complete, compared to 133 days for cases without it. The average number of appearances for cases with legal aid is 5.8 compared to 2.8 appearances for cases without.

Source: The Irish Times February 28, 2026 15:02 UTC