Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 26 May 2004

Vol. 586 No. 3

Legal Aid Centres.

Ms Burton

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this issue. Will the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform clarify, as a matter of urgency, the future of the suburban legal aid centres at Blanchardstown, Finglas and Tallaght following his disclosure that the closure of these centres is being actively considered.

In reply to a parliamentary question I tabled last week seeking assurances on the Minister's commitment to the future of the Blanchardstown legal aid centre at Clonsilla Road, the Minister confessed that the Legal Aid Board "is examining the possible benefits of relocating some or all of its suburban law centres in Dublin to locations in the city centre, to bring them closer to the courts".

It is well known that the Legal Aid Board has had financial problems arising from its decentralisation some time ago from Dublin to the then Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform's home town and constituency base of Cahirciveen in County Kerry. As a consequence of this move, the Legal Aid Board, in effect, has two headquarters, one in Dublin, which its says is needs for access to the courts, and one in Cahirciveen. It now appears that people in areas such as Dublin 15, Finglas and Tallaght may suffer the withdrawal of vital legal aid services to facilitate a Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats decentralisation stroke which has ended up costing far more than when it was first envisaged.

The legal aid centres in the suburbs are a vital resource for people, particularly for those experiencing marriage breakdown who need legal advice but who have relatively modest means and are on a pension or on social welfare. I call on the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, who makes so many pronouncements on so many issues, to make a clear commitment to continue to provide legal aid services in the Dublin suburbs where people can access them. At a time when the Government appears to have money to waste on all sorts of projects from Punchestown to e-voting, this threat to the only legal aid centre in Dublin 15 is outrageous. I would like the Minister to clarify its future and that of the other centres.

Miss de Valera

On behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, I thank Deputy Burton for raising this matter and for giving me an opportunity to update the House.

As the Minister informed the Deputy in Parliamentary Question No. 193 of 19 May 2004, the board is examining the possible benefits of relocating some or all of its suburban law centres in Dublin to locations in the city centre to bring them closer to the courts. However, he has not yet received concrete proposals in this regard and would consider it important that any such proposal would take into account proposals by the Courts Service in regard to the location of family law court sittings.

The Deputy will be aware that in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995, the Legal Aid Board is independent in the exercise of its functions. In particular, section 30 of the Act provides that responsibility for determining how legal services should be provided is solely a matter for the Legal Aid Board. Its responsibility in this regard includes decisions on the location of law centres.

In regard to the board's role in setting up law centres, section 22(1) of the Civil Legal Aid Regulations 1996 provides as follows:

In deciding on the location of law centres, the Board shall have regard to:

(a) the need to provide reasonable access to their services on a nationwide basis

(b) the desirability of providing, so far as possible, ready access to their services in the areas where the need for those services is greatest, and

(c) the need to use available resources in a way likely to result in maximum benefit for persons in need of legal aid or advice

and in considering these matters the Board shall take account of any views expressed by local and other interests but the decision finally in each case shall be a matter entirely for the Board.

The Minister is sure the Deputy will appreciate that in accordance with good public service management practice, the Legal Aid Board keeps the operation of its law centre network under constant review. The aim of the board is to ensure that legal services are available to the greatest possible number of people who are eligible for such services under the Civil Legal Aid Act. In this context, it is a matter for the board to ensure that cases are processed as quickly as possible to ensure that people receive a legal remedy to their problem without undue delay and to make legal services available to applicants within a reasonable time. The efficiency of the total package that the Legal Aid Board can provide to a client must, therefore, be the overall determining factor in this regard.

The Deputy will be aware that approximately 90% of the board's caseload falls in the area of family law. The legal remedy available in such cases is provided through the courts. Taking into account the time spent at court consulting barristers, adjournments, interim applications etc., a significant portion of the time taken to resolve a case, by both client and solicitor, is spent at court and not in the law centre. The Deputy will appreciate that the client must travel to court in any event.

Ms Burton

Particularly from Cahirciveen.

Miss de Valera

The Deputy will appreciate that where a law centre is remote from the court, a solicitor can spend a large portion of his or her time travelling to and from the court — the amount of time involved can be considerable. If the law centre is close to the court, the solicitor will spend less time travelling and will have more time to deal with a greater number of clients. This will be the case particularly when the court adjourns a case to a later time. The time saved will enable the solicitor to deal with other work in the law centre and this should contribute to an improved throughput of cases and reduce the amount of time applicants to the law centre must wait for legal services.

In this regard, the board reviews its operations on an ongoing basis, including the location of law centres, to ensure that a professional service is provided and that it maximises the value for money achieved in the use of its resources.

The Minister asked me to point out that under the terms of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995, an applicant for legal services may apply to any law centre in the State, regardless of his or her home address. In this regard, law centres serve no particular catchment area and applicants from the greater Dublin area may apply for legal services at any of the Dublin law centres most convenient to them.

The Dáil adjourned at 9.20 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 27 May 2004.