A solicitors’ firm billed the State €14,000 over one court appearance on behalf of an alleged brothel-keeper, a Department of Justice review of legal aid has found.
Solicitors were “openly advertising” ways of maximising profits under the criminal legal aid scheme, with one law firm giving barristers a “crash course” in how to drive up payments from the State, according to the review.
It highlights an individual accused of brothel-keeping, theft and sexual assault who had their District Court legal costs covered with more than 360 legal aid certificates.
A rough estimate of costs for one appearance in respect of 63 certificates on the brothel-keeping charges was €14,000, according to the unpublished Department of Justice review, seen by The Irish Times. The certificates reflect the number of charges and would be divided between a number of solicitors.
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The current fees model, based on legislation dating back to 1962, ties legal aid payments to the number of appearances, certificates and clients represented on a single hearing date.
Criminal legal aid is granted by judges and the department is responsible only for payments.
The department was aware of a “crash course” presentation by a law firm informing barristers how they can maximise legal aid by assigning each prosecution in a different solicitor’s name from the same firm.
Based on sliding payment scales, the fee structure means legal aid cases take longer, cost more, incentivises solicitors to seek multiple hearings and “risks undermining public confidence in the value of legal aid”, the review said.
The department is proposing the structure be replaced with a “one accused, one fee” model under which solicitors would be paid one fee of €455, regardless of the number of appearances. They are now paid €239.38 per appearance per accused, and €59.86 for each subsequent appearance.
The department’s proposal to replace the present fee structure has been described as “deeply concerning” by the Law Society which has sought a meeting on the issue.
In the case involving more than 360 certificates, the department received requests not only for payment for the 63 brothel keeping certificates but also for 221 certificates for theft charges and 80 certificates for charges of sexual assault.
“Remarkably, on the same day these certificates were granted, each case was directed to be heard in a higher court where higher fees apply, therefore raising the question as to why separate payments under regulation 7(4) were granted at all,” the review said.
Regulation 7(4), which deals with granting and payment for multiple legal aid certificates, had become a “major issue” in recent years, placing additional strain on the budget.
Under the regulation, when two or more certificates are granted for cases heard together, or in immediate succession, one certificate only shall be deemed to have been granted unless the court finds good reason for doing otherwise.
The financial implications of the “misuse” of the regulation cannot be understated, as was shown by the case of 360 certificates referred to, the review said.
The department’s review, which examined Courts Service data on about 350,000 District Court cases in 2022 and 2023, was triggered by a dramatic rise in criminal legal aid expenditure in the District Courts from €19 million in 2015 to €37 million by 2024.
While the number of legal aid certificates granted is beyond the department’s control, the structure of fees is “a policy lever that can be reformed”, the review said.
