Legal aid reform - Review must consider all the options

AS WITH so many other socially desirable and entirely justified schemes the cost of providing free legal aid snowballed in recent years.

As our ability to fund these schemes grew so too did the capacity of those services to absorb ever greater sums of money. They were the epitome of Charlie McCreevy’s if-I-have-it-I’ll-spend-it school of economics but with the inevitable consequences of such short-term but unaffordable largesse.

Despite a 10.5% cut in professional fees imposed by Justice Minister Dermot Ahern earlier this year, costs have increased by more than 30% in the last four years, jumping from €40 million in 2005 to something expected to be north of €55m this year.