The primary source of criminal legal aid in Ireland is the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962 which was enacted in order to provide legal aid to those who could not afford it. It is normally referred to as the free legal aid scheme as it was introduced to assist indigent accused persons who otherwise would have been denied legal representation.
There are a number of conditions to be met before you will be able to access legal aid from the scheme.
Essentially two conditions must be present:
1. The accused person does not have the means to pay for a criminal defence lawyer themselves and
2. It is essential in the interests of justice, because of the seriousness of the charge or circumstances of the alleged crime, that the accused person be legally represented.
The first condition above is essentially a means test which the Judge will carry out in court by asking some questions of the accused such as “are you working” or “in receipt of social welfare”?
Different judges take slightly different attitudes to the granting of a legal aid certificate but generally if you are earning less than €400 per week you will have a good chance of being granted free legal aid.
The Judge may ask the Gardai about their view in this regard also before making a decision and if the Gardai advise the court that the accuse person appears to have plenty of property or other information of this nature then you may have some difficulty in getting a free legal aid certificate.
You may be asked to fill out a statement of means form where the Judge is sceptical of the accused person’s answers or if the Gardai oppose the application for aid. Lying in this statement of means is an offence and is certainly not advisable.
Generally the “interests of justice” condition will depend on whether the accused is at risk of going to prison if convicted. If this is unlikely then you may not qualify for legal aid.
By the same token if you are facing an indictable offence charge then you are almost certain to be granted a free legal aid certificate.
Exceptional circumstances
Even where you are not at risk of going to jail if convicted, that is “at risk”, the exceptional circumstances of your case may persuade the Judge to grant a certificate. This might occur because of travel plans you may have or because a conviction may cause huge problems for you as a result of your job or occupation, even if not imprisoned.
Other exceptional circumstances might be intellectual disability, not having English as your native tongue or mental illness or disability.
But the primary considerations centre on
1) Your means
2) Whether you are at risk of going to prison.
If you are unsure use the contact us page and we can give you a good idea as to whether you might qualify for free legal aid-if you do qualify Terry Gorry & Co. Solicitors are on the list of solicitors who can represent you under the free legal aid scheme and will be happy to do so.
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