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Ten barristers earned £17m in legal aid over two years
Barristers in Northern Ireland have been paid more than £60m from the public purse for carrying out legal aid work over the past two years.
The identity of the barristers was revealed for the first time on Wednesday despite objections from some lawyers.
Ten of them account for payments of more than £17m.
The top earner was Greg Berry, who was paid more than £2m over the two years. Four others earned more than £1.5m.
Barristers earning most from legal aid in 2008/9 and 2009/10Greg Berry - £2,207,632Brian McCartney - £1,926,838Eilis McDermott - £1,811,044Arthur Harvey - £1,607,011Laurence McCrudden - £1,606,675
Six earned £1m or more while 22 earned over £500,000.
In the last financial year, 2009-10, the top 100 barristers were paid almost £30m.
In the previous financial year, the top 100 earners were paid almost £22m.
The Bar Council said that amounts received in any one year will cover work done over a number of years in a variety of cases.
A statement added that the payments are only made once they have been carefully assessed by the Legal Services Commission.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Ten barristers earned £17m in legal aid over two years Barristers in Northern Ireland have been paid more than £60m from the public purse for carrying out legal aid work over the past two years.
The identity of the barristers was revealed for the first time on Wednesday despite objections from some lawyers.
Ten of them account for payments of more than £17m.
The top earner was Greg Berry, who was paid more than £2m over the two years. Four others earned more than £1.5m.
Barristers earning most from legal aid in 2008/9 and 2009/10Greg Berry - £2,207,632Brian McCartney - £1,926,838Eilis McDermott - £1,811,044Arthur Harvey - £1,607,011Laurence McCrudden - £1,606,675
Six earned £1m or more while 22 earned over £500,000.
In the last financial year, 2009-10, the top 100 barristers were paid almost £30m.
In the previous financial year, the top 100 earners were paid almost £22m.
The Bar Council said that amounts received in any one year will cover work done over a number of years in a variety of cases.
A statement added that the payments are only made once they have been carefully assessed by the Legal Services Commission.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.