S.I. No. 539/2025 - Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) (Tax Clearance Certificate) (Amendment) Regulations 2025

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 14th November, 2025.

I, JIM O’CALLAGHAN, Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 10 of the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962 (No. 12 of 1962) (as adapted by the Justice (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2025 ( S.I. No. 242 of 2025 )), with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation (as adapted by the Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2025 ( S.I. No. 243 of 2025 )), hereby make the following regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) (Tax Clearance Certificate) (Amendment) Regulations 2025.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on 26 November 2025.

2. In these Regulations “Regulations of 1999” means the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) (Tax Clearance Certificate) Regulations, 1999 ( S.I. No. 135 of 1999 ).

3. Regulation 2 of the Regulations of 1999 is amended –

(a) by the deletion of the definition of “panel year”, and

(b) in the definition of “tax clearance certificate”, by the deletion of paragraphs (c) and (d).

4. Regulation 6 of the Regulations of 1999 is amended by the deletion of “or retained on” in both places where it occurs.

5. Regulations 5, 8, 9 and 10 of, and the Schedule to, the Regulations of 1999 are revoked.

6. Regulation 11 is amended by substitution of the following paragraphs for Regulation 11:

“(1) Responsibility for ensuring eligibility for inclusion of a solicitor’s name on a solicitors’ panel shall at all times remain the responsibility of the solicitor concerned.

(2) No fees under the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Regulations shall be payable to a solicitor who accepts an assignment to a case if his or her name is not, at the time of assignment, on the relevant solicitors’ panel.

(3) Responsibility for ensuring eligibility for inclusion of a barrister’s name on the barristers’ panel shall at all times remain the responsibility of the barrister concerned.

(4) No fees under the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Regulations shall be payable to a barrister who accepts an assignment to a case if his or her name is not, at the time of assignment, on the barristers’ panel.”.

The Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation consents to the making of these Regulations.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

30 October, 2025.

JIM O’CALLAGHAN,

Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

6 November, 2025.

JACK CHAMBERS,

Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation.