Criminal Legal Aid Scheme: new system for payment of solicitors

Criminal Law 01/11/1997

A new scheme for payment of solicitors came into operation on 6 October 1997. Details of the scheme are contained in the Department of Justice memorandum set out below.

The Criminal Law Committee reminds practitioners of the requirement to sign the 'day sheet' to enable payment to be made. The committee has been advised that up to 20% of 'day sheets' cannot be processed on first submission due to the fact that they have not been signed by the case solicitor or a member of the solicitor's office, as appropriate. The return of the sheet for signature leads to additional administrative work which ultimately results in a delay in payment to the practitioner. The committee has been advised that a continuation of this practice may result in solicitors not being paid for such appearances.

Memorandum

New system for the payment of barristers and solicitors under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme
  1. A copy of each individual certificate granting free legal aid under the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme will be forwarded by each District Court office to the relevant Circuit Court office to which the case has been returned for trial. The Circuit Court office must forward the certificate to finance division in Killarney for their information. The case 'bill number' must be quoted by the Circuit Court office.
  2. The Circuit Court office will produce 'day sheet(s)' in respect of each day's criminal sittings.
  3. The court registrar will bring his 'day sheet(s)' to court each day and where a solicitor or barrister is representing a client under the criminal legal aid scheme he/she will sign his/her name and payee number opposite the case to record the fact that he/she appeared in court on that date to represent the defendant. It will be the solicitor's and barrister's responsibility to ensure that their appearances are recorded in every case.
  4. At the end of each day the court registrar must sign the 'day sheet(s)' to verify that the particulars recorded on the sheet are correct. Any problems must be brought to the immediate attention of the county registrar who must sort the problem out immediately.
  5. The 'day sheet(s)', correctly certified, must be forwarded by the county registrar to finance division within five working days of the court date. A copy of the 'day sheets(s)' will also be forwarded to Law Library Services Limited for its information. The court office will also keep a copy of each 'day sheet' for record purposes.
  6. On the basis of the information contained on the 'day sheets', finance division will make payments to solicitors and barristers in accordance with the rates and criteria agreed with the Director of Public Prosecutions for the payment of prosecuting counsel.
  7. Finance division will continue to receive fee sheets from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions which will contain a flag to indicate non-standard payments which are made by the director. The information contained thereon will be checked against the payments already made and any underpayment/overpayment will be dealt with.
  8. Solicitors and barristers should make separate claims to finance division in respect of any prison visits, quoting the relevant bill number.