Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 2 Dec 1997

Vol. 483 No. 6

Written Answers. - Legal Aid.

Frances Fitzgerald

Question:

395 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the current situation regarding legal aid to refugees; if he has satisfied himself with the situation where no legal aid is available for refugees upon arrival or when first applying for refugee status; his views on the hardship and injustice in this regard; and the way in which he intends to deal with this situation. [20953/97]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

My Department provides £120 per case in legal assistance for asylum seekers to present their cases to the Appeals Authority. This amount is paid to the legal representatives, who are engaged independently by asylum seekers, on certification by the Appeals Authority that the representatives have acted in the case. (The fee of £120 is the same as that paid by the Legal Aid Board under its private practitioners' scheme for legal services provided for certain District Court family law cases).

The Deputy will be aware that during the period 1 January to 30 September 1997, my Department had an involvement in providing financial assistance to the legal project of the Irish Refugee Council which was providing advice to asylum seekers at the first stage of the asylum process. This assistance was by way of a grant of £8,000 per month. By letter dated 22 September, the council informed my Department that they had decided not to continue to operate the legal project beyond 30 September 1997.

As part of my ongoing review of the whole asylum area, I am considering how best the issue of legal assistance for asylum seekers might be tackled.

Frances Fitzgerald

Question:

396 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform his views on the increasing waiting list outlined in the Legal Aid Board's annual report and in particular, the waiting time of up to seven months in two law centres. [20952/97]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

I read with interest the Legal Aid Board annual report for 1996 and I noted the comments contained in those paragraphs of the report which relate to the capacity of the board to meet demand for services. As Minister with responsibility for the Legal Aid Board, naturally I view with concern any prospect of an increase in the waiting times for appointments with solicitors, for whatever reasons, at any of the 30 full-time law centres operated by the Legal Aid Board throughout the country. I assure the Deputy that waiting times at the law centres are continually reviewed by the board, and where these times, for whatever reasons, become excessive the position is examined by the board with a view to taking remedial action.

To assist the Legal Aid Board in dealing with the present demand on its services I am allocating an extra £1.1 million in funding to the board for 1988, thereby bringing the board's grant in 1998 to £9,495 million. This should help to alleviate the situation in the law centres.