asked the Minister for Justice when it is proposed to have the new legal aid centres operational, if it is intended to locate a centre in Letterkenny, County Donegal, and, if not, if he will indicate how the people of County Donegal will be able to avail of this service.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Legal Aid Centres.
16.
I have requested the Legal Aid Board, which I recently established to administer the scheme of civil legal aid and advice, to make announcements as soon as they are in a position to receive applications for legal aid, and I expect that they will do this in the near future. In accordance with the scheme, the establishment of law centres is a matter for the board with the consent of the Minister for Justice. I have already given my consent to the board's proposals for the establishment of two centres in Dublin and one each in Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Sligo. This represents the board's thinking on what is the best practical approach to getting the scheme operational as soon as possible. It includes, incidentally, one more centre—the Sligo one—than was recommended for the initial phase in the Pringle report. It is not a requirement of the scheme that a person who wishes to apply for services must do so at the nearest or any particular centre. Accordingly, it is open to the board to provide services to persons resident in County Donegal and elsewhere, and who qualify under the scheme, at any of the centres to be established.
While I accept fully what the Minister has said as to the manner in which this scheme may be administered to different areas of the country, it is rather peculiar that, having sent up for the Minister's consent the centres listed, Dublin, Cork, Waterford and Galway, Sligo has to be added——
A question, Deputy.
I am asking what is to be done about Donegal. Is it not a rather peculiar oversight, if oe can call it that, of this board that they do not seem to know that anything exists beyond the middle line of the country or north of it? It is not the first time——
Criticism of the board by Deputy Blaney is not justified. The Pringle Committee who studied these problem areas for a number of years made recommendations that a number of centres be opened in the first year and the board went beyond what was recommended to them and they included Sligo. The board were established only recently, as the Deputy knows. They had their first meeting since Christmas, some time in mid-January. In fairness to them they have to be complimented for the speedy and efficient way they set about providing a much-needed service to the community. I hope that the service which the Deputy sees now beginning to appear in the areas we have named will also be in County Donegal and in every other county.
I ask the Minister to draw one item to their attention, and that is that Sligo is just slightly nearer to Dublin that it is to the northernmost part of Donegal. That fact seems to have escaped so many people in this city and in Government offices over the years.
I accept that the geographical distance from Sligo to Dublin and from Sligo to Malin is as Deputy Blaney says. I suggest that he is quite free to get in touch with the Civil Legal Aid Board and to make his case to them, as they have a chief executive and an office set up. I am sure the Deputy would be welcome to communicate with them.
Let the Minister not forget that.
If I am asked to sanction a center for Donegal I assure the Deputy that I will do so willingly.