As the Deputy will be aware, the function of the Legal Aid Board is to provide, within the resources allocated to it, and subject to other provisions of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995, legal aid and advice in civil cases to persons who satisfy certain requirements set out in the Act and the regulations made thereunder. In addition, section 30 of the Act provides that responsibility for determining how legal services should be provided is a matter for the board.
The Deputy will be aware that a sum of €17.075 million has been allocated to the Legal Aid Board this year. While this figure represents a slight decrease of 3% on the allocation last year, it still represents a significant increase in resources for the Legal Aid Board in recent years, up from €10.563 million in 1997 to €17.075 million in 2003. This represents an increase of almost 62% over the period in question. Sanction for the board to employ additional full-time solicitors was also received during this period.
As part of their function in determining how legal services should be provided, the board has decided that cases involving domestic violence should continue to receive priority under the private practitioner scheme and that maintenance, custody and access cases would generally, in future, be referred to law centres. I should mention to the Deputy, however, that where an application involving domestic violence includes another remedy, this remedy will also be dealt with under the private practitioner scheme.
