Legal aid bill up €760k to €48m

The amount in fees paid out last year to lawyers through criminal legal aid payments increased by €760,000 to €47.78m, in spite of a drop in the number of legal aid certificates issued.

According to figures provided by Justice Minister Alan Shatter to Clare Daly TD, criminal legal aid payments to solicitors and barristers last year totalled €47.78m, and this followed €47.02m paid out in 2012 — representing an increase of 1.6%.

Mr Shatter said solicitors in the criminal legal aid scheme last year received fees of €29.68m, with senior counsel getting €6.5m and junior counsel €11.5m.