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, an increase of almost 62% over the period in question. In addition, of course, sanction for the board to employ additional full-time solicitors was also received during this period.
The Deputy will appreciate that under section 5(1) of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995, the function of the Legal Aid Board is to provide, from within the board's resources and subject to the other provisions of the Act, legal aid and advice in civil cases to persons who satisfy the requirements of the Act and the regulations made thereunder. In addition, under section 30 of the Act, responsibility for determining how legal services should be provided, including the location of law centres, the staffing required by these centres, and the use of private practitioners is a matter for the board.
The Deputy may be aware that in early 2000, after a pilot test in the Dublin area, the Legal Aid Board extended a private practitioner's scheme nation-wide. The purpose of the private practitioner's scheme is to provide a complementary legal service to that which is already available from the board's permanent law centre network. This complementary service relates to certain family law matters in the district court namely, domestic violence, maintenance and custody-access.