SOME €13.7 MILLION was paid to senior and junior counsel last year by the Director of Public Prosecutions for work on cases in the criminal courts across the country.
The payout of €13.74 million represents a 3.4 per cent drop on the €14.23 million paid to counsel in 2007.
The figures show that 52 senior counsel received €4.1 million last year – an increase on the €3.8 million paid to senior counsel in 2007, while €9.6 million was paid to 118 junior counsel – a drop of €700,000 on the €10.3 million paid out the previous year.
The barrister who prosecuted Ennis woman Sharon Collins (45) in the “Lying Eyes” conspiracy to murder trial last year received the highest amount in fees paid to a senior counsel by the (DPP) in 2008.
Tom O’Connell SC received €294,511 in fees to prosecute cases on behalf of the State last year.
The barrister to receive the highest amount amongst the 170 barristers was junior counsel Paul Anthony McDermott BL, who received €308,974.
Mr O’Connell was the lead prosecutor in the eight-week murder conspiracy trial of Ms Collins and Las Vegas poker player Essam Eid (53) last summer.
More recently, Mr O’Connell successfully prosecuted Corkman Ted Cunningham (60) for money laundering more than £3 million stolen in the Northern Bank robbery in Belfast in December 2004 after a 45-day trial at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.
The figures show that Mr O’Connell’s colleague in the prosecution team in the “Lying Eyes” case, Úna Ní Raifeartaigh BL, received €170,528 in fees last year from the DPP.
The figures show that the senior counsel who received the third-highest amount overall is Denis Vaughan Buckley SC who received €264,791 – Mr Vaughan Buckley received the highest amount in 2007.
Last year Mr Vaughan Buckley appeared on behalf of the DPP in the unsuccessful appeal by Joe O’Reilly against his conviction for the murder of his wife, Rachel.
Mr Vaughan Buckley also appeared on behalf of the State in the case of former Killaloe doctor Paschal Carmody.
Mr Carmody is currently opposing the DPP’s decision to seek a retrial in 11 outstanding charges.
A number of barristers to receive high amounts from the DPP also featured prominently in the amounts paid to counsel through the legal aid scheme for defending clients in 2008.
These include Caroline Biggs BL who received €146,164 from the DPP; Seán Gillane BL who received €137,662 and Isobel Kennedy SC who received €106,381.
Counsel acting on behalf of the DPP receive the same amount as the fees paid through the criminal legal aid scheme to defence counsel.
Earlier this year the Government imposed an 8 per cent reduction in professional fees.
In relation to the fees paid in 2008, a senior counsel would have received a “brief fee” of €9,357 for taking on a murder case in the Central Criminal Court – this covers preparatory work and the first day in court.
For each subsequent day, senior counsel received a “refresher fee” of €2,051.
In similar cases, the rates for last year show that junior counsel received a “brief fee” of €6,238 and €1,367 paid for each subsequent day after the first day.
The figures show that in circuit court cases, senior counsel received a “brief fee” of €2,253 and “refresher fees” of €1,126, while junior counsel received a “brief fee” of €1,502 and a “refresher fee” of €751.
