Prosecutor in Graham Dwyer case received €101,000 fee

The team of barristers that prosecuted Graham Dwyer earned €438,898 (including VAT) prosecuting cases in the courts last year.

New figures from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) show payments to all barristers prosecuting cases last year increased by 4.6 per cent, from €13.4 million to €14 million. The figures, released in response to a Freedom of Information request, show the lead prosecutor in the Dwyer case, Seán Guerin SC, received €139,365 for prosecuting cases on behalf of the DPP in the courts last year.

The total includes Mr Guerin’s €101,726 fee for putting the State’s case during the 43-day Dwyer trial last year.

Lucrative

Ann-Marie Lawlor BL, one of Mr Guerin’s two colleagues in the Dwyer trial, received €193,418, including a €67,130 fee for that trial, and Sinéad McGrath received €106,115, including €68,137 for the case.

The barrister who defended Dwyer, Remy Farrell SC, received €127,168 for prosecuting cases last year. The prosecution and defence sides in the Dwyer case received fees totalling €1.3 million for defending and prosecuting accused persons in the courts last year.

Along with €438,898 received from the DPP for prosecuting, the lawyers in the Dwyer case received an additional €879,293 for defending in the courts last year.

The total amount paid by the State to barristers for defending and prosecuting cases last year was €32.75 million.

The most in-demand prosecuting barrister in the country last year was Úna Ní Raifeartaigh SC, who received €357,002. Dominic McGinn SC, who led the State case in the Anglo Three trial last year, received fees of €322,346 for prosecuting.

Brendan Grehan SC, also did a lot of prosecuting for the DPP last year, earning €217,963.

Both Mr Grehan and Ms Ní Raifeartaigh represented the DPP in the long-running trial of Mark Nash, who was convicted last year for the murders of Sylvia Sheils (59) and Mary Callanan (61) at their sheltered housing in Grangegorman in Dublin in 1997.

Legal aid

The best-paid criminal defence barrister, Michael Bowman SC, who last year received €457,772 also got €62,812 for prosecuting cases.

Paul Anthony McDermott BL received the second highest fees from the DPP (among junior counsel) at €203,934.

The best-paid junior counsel was Vincent Heneghan BL, who received €212,026.Noel Whelan BL received €161,444 for prosecuting cases.

In prosecuting and defending cases in the central criminal court for murder trials, senior counsel receive a brief fee of €7,127 that covers preparatory work and the first day and a daily refresher fee of €1,562.

In the circuit court senior counsel received a brief fee of €1,716 and a refresher fee of €858.

Junior counsel prosecuting and defending murder cases in the central criminal court received a brief fee of €4,752 and a refresher fee of €1,041 and in the circuit court receive a brief fee of €1,144 and a refresher fee of €572.