Office of the Attorney General of Ireland - Attorney General's scheme

Attorney General's Scheme

The Attorney General's Scheme provides payment for legal representation in certain types of legal cases not covered by civil legal aid or the criminal legal aid scheme. The kinds of cases covered include certain types of judicial review, bail applications, extradition and habeas corpus applications. It is an ex gratia scheme set up with funds made available by the Oireachtas. The Scheme is administered on behalf of the Attorney General by the Chief State Solicitor's Office. Special rules apply which are contained in the Scheme itself as follows.

The Attorney General's Scheme

Effective from Monday 1st May 2000

The provisions of the Attorney General's Scheme in the Supreme Court and the High Court are as follows:

The Scheme applies to the following forms of litigation (which are not covered by Civil or Criminal Legal Aid): (i) Habeas corpus applications. (ii) Bail Motions. (iii) Such Judicial Reviews as consist of or include Certiorari, Mandamus or Prohibition and are concerned with criminal matters or matters where the liberty of the applicant is at issue. (iv) Applications under section 50 of the Extradition Act 1965, extradition applications and European Arrest Warrant applications.
The purpose of the Scheme is to provide legal representation for persons who need it but cannot afford it. It is not an alternative to costs. Accordingly, a person wishing to obtain from the court a recommendation to the Attorney General that the Scheme be applied must make his or her application (personally or through his or her lawyer) at the commencement of the proceedings and must obtain the recommendation at the commencement of the proceedings.
The applicant must satisfy the court that he or she is not in a position to retain a solicitor (or, where appropriate, counsel) unless he or she receives the benefit of the Scheme. To this end the applicant must provide such information about his or her means as the court deems appropriate.
The court must be satisfied that the case warrants the assignment of counsel and/or solicitor.
If the court considers that the complexity or importance of the case requires it, the recommendation for counsel may also include one senior counsel.
The costs payable to the solicitor, and the fees payable to counsel, under the Scheme are at most those which would be payable in a case governed by the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Regulations current for the time being, applied mutatis mutandis.
Where there is more than one applicant, but only one matter is at issue before the court, the solicitor and counsel assigned shall represent all the applicants.
The Scheme is an administrative, non-statutory arrangement whereby payments are made out of the Vote of the Office of the Chief State Solicitor in respect of certain legal costs in the types of litigation referred to in paragraph 1 of the Scheme in which, for the most part, the State is a party (although the State need not be a party to proceedings which are eligible for the Attorney General's Scheme). The Attorney General is not bound by the recommendation of the Court.
The Scheme only applies to proceedings of the type referred to in paragraph 1 of the Scheme conducted in the High Court and the Supreme Court. Where the proceedings are of a type which fall outside the scope of the Scheme, as in for example family law cases, the Scheme cannot be applied to those proceedings because public funds may only be applied for the purpose for which they have been provided by the Oireachtas. It is not within the discretion of the Attorney General to apply public funds to other purposes.
The term "the commencement of these proceedings" in paragraph 2 of the Scheme refers to the commencement of proceedings in a particular court. In other words, an applicant would not be prejudiced from seeking the benefit of the Attorney General's Scheme to be applied to him or her in respect of Supreme Court proceedings by reason of the fact that he or she had not made such an application in relation to the High Court proceedings. However in these circumstances, the Scheme does not have effect retrospectively to entitle him or her to costs under the Attorney General's Scheme in respect of the High Court proceedings.
These are the main conditions relating to the Attorney General's Scheme. The Attorney General and the staff of the Office of the Attorney General are unable to give legal advice to members of the public. Members of the public should obtain their own legal advice as to their entitlement (if any) under the Attorney General's Scheme.

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