asked the Minister for Justice the estimated cost of the introduction of a civil legal aid system on the lines of the English system.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Civil Legal Aid System.
21.
Sufficiently detailed information is not available to enable anything like an accurate assessment to be made of the annual expenditure necessary to establish a civil legal aid scheme on the lines of that operating in England. A rough estimate, which can really be little more than a guess, is that the cost of such a scheme would be of the order of £200,000 a year.
Would the Minister agree that, in view of the growing cost of litigation, this amount would be of very small significance in the national budget and that it might be a good social aid to make a commitment in this respect in the very near future?
That question goes beyond the question put to me which is related purely to the cost, but if the Deputy feels there is a case for thisand I am sure it is a reasonable viewpoint—I shall pass that on to the Minister.