S.I. No. 303/2026 - Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) (Amendment) Regulations 2026

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) (Amendment) Regulations 2026.

(2) The Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Regulations 1965 to 2024 and these Regulations may be cited together as the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Regulations 1965 to 2026.

(3) These Regulations shall come into operation on 1 July 2026.

2. In these Regulations, the “Regulations of 2024” means the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (

S.I. No. 742 of 2024

).

3. (1) Subject to paragraph (2) and Regulation 4, the rate of payment of fee payable to a solicitor assigned, pursuant to a legal aid certificate, to a person charged before the District Court for acting for the person in respect of all charges listed against him or her at the commencement of the District Court proceedings relating to those charges or to an appellant in the Circuit Court shall be €520.

(2) The fee specified in paragraph (1) shall be payable upon the issuing of the final order by the court concerned.

4. (1) Where –

(a) a warrant issues for the arrest of a person, who was charged before the District Court and to whom a solicitor has been assigned pursuant to a legal aid certificate in respect of those charges (in these Regulations referred to as the “first legal aid certificate”), for failure to appear before that court in respect of the charges to which the first legal aid certificate relates, and

(b) a further legal aid certificate (in these Regulations referred to as the “second legal aid certificate”) is granted in relation to the execution of the warrant,

the rate of payment of fee payable to the solicitor assigned pursuant to the second legal aid certificate shall be €80.

(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply where –

(a) the person the subject of the warrant referred to in that paragraph is brought before the District Court on foot of that warrant, and

(b) the solicitor assigned pursuant to the first legal aid certificate to that person is assigned, pursuant to a further legal aid certificate, to the person in respect of further charges listed against him or her on the date he or she is brought before the court under subparagraph (a).

5. (1) The rate of payment of fee payable to a solicitor assigned, pursuant to a legal aid certificate, to a person before the Circuit Court or Special Criminal Court in relation to an application to be admitted to bail that is contested by the prosecution shall be that specified in Part 1 of Schedule 1.

(2) The rate of payment of fee payable to a solicitor assigned, pursuant to a legal aid certificate, to a person in respect of any visit to the person in prison that is essential to the preparation and conduct of the person’s defence, appeal or case stated, as the case may be, shall be that specified in Part 2 of Schedule 1.

6. (1) The rate of payment of fee payable to counsel assigned, pursuant to a legal aid certificate, to a person before the Circuit Court or Special Criminal Court in relation to an application to be admitted to bail that is contested by the prosecution, shall be that specified in Part 1 of Schedule 2.

(2) The rate of payment of fee payable to counsel assigned, pursuant to a legal aid certificate, to a person in respect of any visit to the person in prison that is essential to the preparation and conduct of the person’s defence, appeal or case stated, as the case may be, shall be that specified in Part 2 of Schedule 2.

7. Regulation 2(1) of the Regulations of 2024 is amended by the insertion of “to 30 June 2026” after “1 January 2025”.

8. Regulations 2(2) and (3) and 3 of, and Part 2 and 3 of Schedule 1, and Schedule 2 to, the Regulations of 2024 are revoked.

9. Regulation 7 of the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Regulations, 1965 (

S.I. No. 12 of 1965

) is amended by the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraph (4)

“(4) For the avoidance of doubt, where a legal aid certificate is granted to a person charged before the District Court or an appellant in the Circuit Court and the cases in relation to which it is granted are listed together at the commencement of the proceedings before the court concerned, one legal aid certificate only shall be granted to the person in respect of those cases.

(5) Paragraph (4) shall not apply where –

(a) the person referred to in that paragraph is brought before the District Court, in relation to the execution of a warrant to arrest the person for failure to appear before the District Court in respect of the cases referred to in that paragraph, on a date (in this paragraph referred to as the “subsequent date”) subsequent to the date on which the proceedings relating to those cases commenced, and

(b) the solicitor assigned to the person to act for him or her in relation to the cases referred to in that paragraph is assigned to that person to act for him or her in relation to the District Court proceedings relating to the execution of the warrant but is not assigned to act for that person in relation to any additional cases listed against the person on the subsequent date.”.

SCHEDULE 1

SOLICITOR’S FEES

Part 1

Bail applications

Fee in respect of each contested bail application to Circuit Court or Special Criminal Court

€117.42

Part 2

Essential Visits

Fee in respect of each essential visit to prison

€124.72

SCHEDULE 2

COUNSEL’S FEES

Part 1

Bail Applications

Fee in respect of each contested bail application to Circuit Court or Special Criminal Court

€117.42

Part 2

Essential Visits

Fee in respect of each essential visit to prison

€124.72

The Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation consents to the making of the foregoing Regulations.

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation,

29 June, 2026.

JACK CHAMBERS,

Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

29 June, 2026.

JIM O’CALLAGHAN,

Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of

3

rd July,

2026.

I, JIM O’CALLAGHAN, Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by

section 10

of the

Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962

(No. 12 of 1962) (as adapted by the Justice (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2025 (

S.I. No. 242 of 2025

)), with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation (as adapted by the Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2025 (

S.I. No. 243 of 2025

)), hereby make the following regulations