EU directive will add €2m to legal aid bill

The new right for criminal suspects to have a solicitor present during Garda interrogation will add up to €2 million to the free legal aid bill.

The new right for criminal suspects to have a solicitor present during Garda interrogation will add up to €2 million to the free legal aid bill.

Until recently, the official policy was that suspects who were arrested had a right to speak to their solicitor, but not during Garda interviews.

This was changed last May to bring the country into line with an EU directive on the right of access to a lawyer.