Free legal aid for criminals an unsavoury reality

As the Garda controversies drag on, it's difficult to know where to direct your anger. Whether you blame Garda management, successive Governments or politics at large, the thing that galls many of us is the notion of vicious criminals attempting to overturn their convictions in the belief that their telephone calls may have been recorded without their knowledge.

Some of Ireland's most reviled crime figures have already engaged their solicitors. Ultimately it will be up to the courts to decide if they have an arguable case or not. We may not like it, but we will simply have to let the judicial process take its course if an unsavoury ragbag of convicted murderers, rapists and armed robbers look for their day in court, as is expected.

The latest scandal over the recording of phone calls will clog up an already overburdened court system. Cases that are pending will be put back as defendants' solicitors seek to establish if the guards were eavesdropping on their private conversations while in custody. Some of those already behind bars will be having an opportunistic pop at the State as well - even if their guilt has been well established through corroborative evidence presented at their trial. Sure why not? What have they got to lose?

Each appeal will have to be decided on its own merit so it's too early to second guess the outcome at this stage or be able to gauge what impact - if any - the recordings had in securing convictions.

So who'll be paying for these expensive, drawn out appeals? In many cases I imagine that the taxpayer will be footing the bill through free legal aid as thugs without alternative means of income seek to challenge their convictions.

Free legal aid may be a central tenet of our court system but I am personally uncomfortable with the the State providing such a potentially unlimited resource for repeat offenders, particularly those with multiple convictions for offences at the higher end of the scale.

Former hurling legend DJ Carey touched on this issue over the weekend after a relative of his was the victim of a robbery. A national newspaper reported that he lashed out at the millions being spent on "scumbag" thieves through the free legal aid system while at the same time Garda resources have been cut.

On one hand it's easy to have sympathy for this view. Would there be merit in considering a 'three strikes and you're out' approach to free legal aid for certain offences? For instance, if you have had three convictions for armed robbery, should you have to pay for your own defence or represent yourself if you come before the court on a fourth or subsequent similar charge?

In an ideal world, perhaps. However, the latest controversies have shown that gardai don't always behave the way we expect them to in the administration of justice. I still believe that the majority of the force are ethical, dedicated servants of the State. But history has taught us that the Garda Siochana is not above scrutiny.

Thanks to the practice of recording phone conversations in certain Garda stations and in prisons, our courts will almost certainly have to consider related applications for free legal aid. Law abiding members of the public and victims of crime will simply have to stand by and watch through gritted teeth.