The Courts Service has provided information on planned changes to the Criminal Legal Aid Panel from December 2024.
Existing renewal process
Under current arrangements, solicitors must submit applications for inclusion on the panel by 30 November of the year – for example, by 31 November 2023 to be included on the 2024 panel – along with a copy of their current eTax Clearance Certificate (eTC). The Application Form can be found on the Courts Service website.
Renewal process from December 2024
From December 2024 onwards, it is proposed that solicitors who are on the Criminal Legal Aid Panel will remain on the Panel without having to reapply each year in the future unless their circumstances change.
Where a solicitor changes employer or sets up as a separate entity they should complete the Application form and submit it with their eTC to the Centralised Legal Aid Panel section in the Courts Service.
eTC – still required annually
Solicitors will still be required to submit an up-to-date eTC on an annual basis, to receive payment the following year for criminal legal aid work.
From December 2024, once an eTC is submitted by mid-December, payments can be made from January to December of the following year. If the eTC is submitted late, payments will only commence from the date the eTC is received and will continue to be paid to the end of the calendar year. A new eTC will have to be submitted in December again for payments for the following year. Queries regarding the backdating of legal aid claims should continue to be referred to the Department of Justice.
No solicitor will be paid for criminal legal aid work if an eTC has not been submitted. Payments will only be made from the date the eTC is received and no arrears will be paid for the period during which an eTC had not been supplied.
From 2024 onwards, solicitors who are not sole traders but employees of a legal firm will also be required to submit their employer’s tax number. The Department of Justice will check the tax clearance status of every company to be paid under Criminal Legal Aid from 2024. Any company whose tax clearance is not up to date will not be paid.
Contact information
The contact information for backdating queries, payment queries and panel queries is below.
Backdating Legal Aid Panel queries
Department of Justice, Deerpark Road, Killarney, Co. Kerry, Ireland, V93 KH28
Payment queries
FSS Killarney Legal Aid Payment Section, Department of Justice, Deerpark Road, Killarney, Co. Kerry, Ireland, V93 KH28
Criminal Legal Aid Panel queries
Legal Aid Panel Team, Centralised Office, Castlebar Courthouse, Co. Mayo, F23 KT99