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As some confusion appears to have arisen as to the manner in which interpreters should be paid, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has advised that the following procedure should be followed where a solicitor engages the services of an interpreter for the defence of a client who has been granted legal aid:

• The solicitor should certify an original attendance record document for the interpreter at time of consultation and give same to the interpreter
• The interpreter should give the original attendance record to the interpreting service provider (or himself, in the case of a sole trader); the service provider (or sole trader, as the case may be) should then send the original attendance record accompanied by an original invoice for the fee claimed to the solicitor
• The solicitor should then forward both these original documents under cover of a CLA 10 claim form (Criminal Legal Aid Claim Form - Solicitor's Expenses) to the Finance Branch in Killarney for payment as a normal disbursement under the CLA scheme.

The above procedures should be followed where the interpreter's services were engaged in the defence of a client to whom a certificate of free legal aid has been granted. Claims for payment of fees for interpreting services where the service has been availed of in a courtroom and where registrars have signed off on the attendance record should be forwarded to the Courts Service for payment. Claims for payment of interpreters' fees incurred by the Probation and Welfare Service should be forwarded to that service for processing.