THE Department of Justice is set to introduce safeguards to ensure wealthy criminals can no longer abuse the legal aid system.

Minister Dermot Ahern has admitted that he is concerned that the scheme to provide free solicitors and barristers for defendants is subject to "abuse".

The scheme – which has cost an enormous €231m over the past five years – exists to allow those facing the courts proper access to legal advice.

However, it has been abused over recent decades by some of the country's most notorious criminals including Martin 'The General' Cahill and John Gilligan.

New plans from the Department of Justice include means testing, increased penalties for fraud and asking individuals to at least make a contribution to their costs.

The level of expenditure involved has shown a dramatic rise since 2005 when it stood at €40.19m, according to figures from the Department of Justice.

During 2008, it rose to €55m and despite attempts to cut the bill, it could rise even higher this year, it has emerged.

Already, by the end of October, the state had paid out close to €48m on the legal aid scheme with two of the year's busiest months still to come.

June of this year saw a record high in payments under the scheme with a total of €6.98m paid out to lawyers and barristers.

The Department of Justice said free legal aid has to be provided to people who have "insufficient means" for dealing with criminal proceedings.

It said it had no role in determining eligibility for legal aid in criminal cases and that it was up to the judge in each case.

However, it said it did have "concerns" about mounting expenditure on the scheme and that a bill to amend the system would be put in place.

The department confirmed: [We will be] ... bringing forward a bill to amend the current system with a view to ensuring that while accused persons of insufficient means who are facing serious charges are entitled to have a defence provided for them, there are tight controls against any abuse of the scheme."

They said that free legal aid had been established as a constitutional right in a case where an applicant could prove to court they had not got enough money to pay their costs.

A statement said: "The court must also be satisfied that by reason of the 'gravity of the charge' or 'exceptional circumstances', it is essential in the interests of justice that the applicant should have legal aid.

"However, where the charge is one of murder or where an appeal is one from the Court of Criminal Appeal to the Supreme Court, free legal aid is granted merely on the grounds of insufficient means."