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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 19 Feb 1997

Vol. 475 No. 2

Written Answers. - Free Legal Aid Scheme.

Máirín Quill

Question:

26 Miss Quill asked the Minister for Equality and Law Reform the current position in relation to waiting lists for free legal aid; the proportion of family law cases handled by the Legal Aid Board in 1996; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4509/97]

I have set out in a tabular statement, which I propose to circulate in the Official Report, the waiting times as at 31 January last at 28 of the board's 30 full-time law centres. Because the two remaining law centres, at Tullamore and Newbridge, only opened at the end of January, figures are not yet available for them.

A number of factors should assist in improving the waiting lists in the future. The impact of the two centres opened last month as well as the two opened at the end of last year has yet to be fully felt, particularly in adjacent law centres. In addition, new heads of staff have recently come on stream in accordance with the development plan for the service. The board is also seeking to extend the private practitioners scheme outside the Dublin area, to which it is currently confined. Extension of the scheme would have a significant impact on waiting lists.

Waiting times are continually reviewed by the board. Where waiting times, for whatever reasons, become excessive the position is examined by the board with a view to taking remedial action where possible. The board operates a system for giving priority attention to domestic violence cases and to certain classes of cases involving children.

Work is progressing in the Legal Aid Board on the collating and analysis of statistical returns from the law centres in respect of 1996, in preparation for the publication later this year of the board's annual report for 1996. Until this work is complete it will not be possible for the board to identify what proportion of cases it processed in 1996 were family law cases. I can say, however, that if the pattern of previous years is maintained, as I expect it will be, then the figures will be in the region of 97 per cent for court cases and 90 per cent for legal advice cases.
Legal Aid Board — Law Centre Waiting List — 31st January 1997

County

Centre

Period (months)

Cavan

Cavan

2

Clare

Ennis

2.5

Cork

Popes Quay

8

South Mall

5

Donegal

Letterkenny

2.5

Dublin

Blanchardstown

2

Clondalkin

3

Finglas

3.5

Gardiner Street

5

Mount Street

9

Ormond Quay

2

Tallaght

2.5

Galway

Galway

2.5

Kerry

Tralee

8

Kildare

Newbridge

New Centre

Kilkenny

Kilkenny

0.5

Laois

Portlaoise

9

Limerick

Limerick

1.5

Longford

Longford

Louth

Dundalk

3

Mayo

Castlebar

0

Meath

Navan

0

Monaghan

Monaghan

3

Offaly

Tullamore

New Centre

Sligo

Sligo

4

Tipperary

Nenagh

2.5

Waterford

Waterford

0

Westmeath

Athlone

8

Wexford

Wexford

4

Wicklow

Wicklow

7.5

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