asked the Minister for Justice if the free legal aid centres recently opened by him are keeping statistical information in relation to the type of query raised by applicants; and, if so, the percentage of applicants in the period from the opening of the centres to the most recent date for which figures are available, who have come to the centres with matrimonial cases.
Ceisteanna—Questions . Oral Answers . - Free Legal Aid Centres .
31.
: I am informed by the Legal Aid Board appointed by me to administer the scheme of civil legal aid and advice that they have made arrangements for the keeping of records in legal aid centres which will enable statistics of the kind mentioned in the question to be included in the board's annual report.
Because the board's staff are extremely busy and because most of the centres have commenced operation only recently, I consider that it would not be reasonable to ask for a detailed analysis of the records at this stage. However, the board have estimated that since the Dublin centres opened in mid-August, 75 per cent to 80 per cent of the applications dealt with by them were family law cases and that the corresponding figure for the centres outside Dublin was about 65 per cent.