Example Calculation of a contribution for Legal Advice and Legal Aid
Joe Bloggs is a salaried employee earning €40,000 gross per annum. His income net of PRSI and income tax is €30,000 per annum. He is widowed and has two dependent children for whom he pays child care costs of €100 per week each. His mortgage amounts to €580 per month. He makes the payments. He has a car worth €8,500 and shares in a publicly quoted company valued at €20,000. He has no other assets apart from his home. He is applying for legal aid. His financial eligibility and contribution are assessed as follows:
Step 1: Calculating Joe Bloggs's disposable income
Joe Bloggs's disposable income can be calculated by subtracting the total of his allowances from his total income.
Calculating Joe Bloggs's total income
Calculating income (example)
| Source | Amount |
|---|
| Source | Amount |
|---|
| Employment/Pension | €40,00.00 |
|---|
| Maintenance | €0.00 |
|---|
| Social Welfare | €0.00 |
|---|
| Business | €0.00 |
|---|
| Benefit in Kind | €0.00 |
|---|
| Other | €0.00 |
|---|
| Total income | €40,000.00 |
|---|
Joe Blogg's total income is €40,000.00.
Calculating Joe Bloggs's total allowances
Joe Bloggs qualifies for certain allowances, which will be used to calculate his disposable income. These are listed on our How do I qualify? page.
Calculating allowances for calculation (example)
| Nature of allowance | Maximum Allowance | Amount allowed for Joe Bloggs |
|---|
| Nature of allowance | Maximum allowance | Amount allowed for Joe Bloggs |
|---|
| Spouse/Partner | €3,500.00 | €0.00 |
|---|
| Each dependent | €1,600.00 | €3,200.00 |
|---|
| Child care per child | €6,000.00 | €10,400.00 |
|---|
| Social insurance | Full | €1,000.00 |
|---|
| Income tax | Full | €3,000.00 |
|---|
| USC | Full | €1,000.00 |
|---|
| PRD | Full | €0.00 |
|---|
| Accommodation costs | €8,000.00 | €6,960.00 |
|---|
| Ex-gratia | €1,040.00 | €0.00 |
|---|
| Total allowance | Not applicable | €25,560.00 |
|---|
The total allowances to be taken from Joe Bloggs's income for calculation is €25,560.00.
Calculating Joe Bloggs's disposable income
We subtract Joe Bloggs's total allowances from his total income to calculate his disposable
income: €40,000.00 - €25,560.00 = €14,440.00
Joe Bloggs's disposable income is €14,440.00.
Step 2: Calculating the contribution that Joe Bloggs must pay for Legal Advice
Because Joe Bloggs's disposable income exceeds €11,500, he will have to pay a contribution of up to €150 for Legal Advice. This contribution will be calculated as one-tenth of the difference between his disposable income and €11,500, up to a maximum amount of €150. This is part of the cost of service.
One-tenth of the difference between Joe Bloggs's disposable income and €11,500 is €294.00, but this is above the maximum amount of €150.
Joe Bloggs will have to pay a contribution of €150 for Legal Advice.
Step 3: Calculating the contribution that Joe Bloggs must pay for Legal Aid
Joe Bloggs will have to pay a contribution for his Legal Aid, based on his disposable income and his disposable capital.
Calculating the contribution that Joe Bloggs must pay for Legal Aid, based on income
Because Joe Bloggs's disposable income exceeds €11,500, he must pay a minimum contribution of more than €130 for Legal Aid. This contribution will be calculated as €130 plus one quarter of the difference between disposable income and €11,500. This is part of the cost of the service.
€130 plus one quarter of the difference between Joe Bloggs's disposable income and €11,500 is €865.00.
Joe Bloggs must pay a contribution for Legal Aid, based on his disposable income of €865.00.
Calculating the contribution that Joe Bloggs must pay for Legal Aid, based on capital
Because Joe Bloggs has a disposable capital (his car and his shares in a company) worth between €4,001 and €54,000, he must pay a contribution for Legal Aid. This contribution will be calculated as 2.5% of the difference between the value of his disposable capital (minus 10% realisation costs) and €4000, to a maximum of €1,250. This is part of the cost of the service.
Joe Bloggs must pay a contribution for Legal Aid, based on his disposable capital, of€598.00
Calculating the total contribution that Joe Bloggs must pay for Legal Aid
Joe Bloggs must pay a contribution for Legal Aid of €865.00 (based on his disposable income) plus €598.00 (based on his disposable capital).
Joe Bloggs must pay a total contribution for Legal Aid of €1463.00.
Step 4: Calculating the total contribution that Joe Bloggs must pay for Legal Advice and Legal Aid
Joe Bloggs will have to pay a contribution of €150 for Legal Advice and a contribution for Legal Aid of €1463.00.
The total contribution that Joe Bloggs will have to pay for Legal Advice and Legal Aid is €1613.00.
