Vol. 464 No. 8
34 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Equality and Law Reform his views on the comments that family law is in need of resources instead of legislation; the total resources spent in the area of family law in 1995; the projected expenditure in 1996; the identified shortfall in resources; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8943/96]
The comments, which I assume the Deputy refers to, as set out in one of the daily newspapers of 25 April 1996 are, first, an acknowledgment of the unprecedented volume of legislation in family law in recent years and particularly so over the past two years by way of such measures as the Maintenance Act, 1994, the Civil Legal Aid Act, 1995, the Family Law Act, 1995, and the Domestic Violence Act, 1996. That recent spate of legislation culminated, as was promised in the Government's programme, in the holding of the referendum on divorce. However, there continues to be a need, in my view, for a process of updating our laws in the family law area. For that reason my Department, in addition to being on the ready for publication of a Family Law (Divorce) Bill in the event that the way is cleared for this by the Supreme Court in the case that is before it, is preparing proposals to update aspects of the law on, among other matters, guardianship, the giving of evidence by children and on nullity.
My Department has responsibilities for fund-raising in relation to legal aid, mediation and counselling and I will continue to strive for devlopment of those areas, subject to budgetary constraints. Major increases in recent years in Exchequer funding of those services has already led to significant growth. Details of funding in 1995 and 1996 are set out in the following tabular statement:
|
Service |
Outturn 1995 |
Grant 1996 |
|
£ |
£ |
|
|
Legal Aid Board |
6.2m |
6.5m |
|
Free Legal Advice Centre |
45,000 |
45,000 |
|
Family Mediation Service |
260,000 |
300,000 |
|
Marriage Counselling Services |
750,000 |
900,000 |
