The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) paid barristers and solicitors more than €24m for work in the criminal courts last year.

The average amount each lawyer got was over €163,000, figures obtained by Newstalk under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act show.

The DPP employs barristers to prosecute on its behalf in various criminal courts.

It has in-house solicitors who work on cases in Dublin, but state solicitors in private practice are contracted to represent the DPP outside the capital.

Last year, a total of just over €24m was paid to both barristers and solicitors.

Some 114 junior and senior counsel got €16.8m, including VAT.

One barrister got nearly €330,000, while five others got more than €200,000.

The total paid to 33 state solicitors in 2019 was €7.2m - with one getting over €500,000.

The total combined figures for barristers and state solicitors are down marginally on the previous year.

In 2018, €24.2m was paid - with €17.4m on junior and senior counsel, and €6.8m on state solicitors.

But senior counsel Seamus Clarke, from the Bar Council, says the figures for barristers don't tell the whole story.

"The first thing about the figures is that they don't paint a complete picture," he said.

"Firstly, it's a gross figure and doesn't include a number of expenditures that barristers have, such as running their practice, office, rent, secretarial support and membership of the Law Library fees.

"They also don't reflect the complexity of cases, because we have a lot more complex cases coming through the courts, and indeed, they don't reflect the number of cases a particular barrister might have."