The Attorney General's Scheme, which provides legal aid in cases not covered by civil and criminal legal aid, has been criticised by a leading solicitor after legal difficulties arising from two extradition cases heard in the Dublin District Court this week.
Questions about the scheme were raised in the court yesterday two days after another case in which a man, facing an extradition warrant in connection with robbery and burglary offences in Britain, was freed by the court. The man walked free after Judge McDonnell said he was told by the Attorney General's office, in an unrelated family law matter, that the scheme did not apply in the District Court.
The provisions of the Attorney General's Scheme state: "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 and (in relation to extradition cases) the District Court."
Mr James Macguill, a former chairman of the Law Society's Criminal Law Committee, told The Irish Times any scheme to assist people with no means should be transparent and under the full control of the courts. "Any person brought before the courts, and their legal representatives, should be able to predict in advance the extent of whatever assistance is available to them under a proper statutory scheme," he said.