Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 May 2014
105. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will consider making it easier and less expensive to access digital audio recordings in order to protect citizens' legal rights and simply the process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23419/14]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Courts Service is responsible for the management and administration of the Courts. The scheduling of court cases and the allocation of court business is a matter for the Presidents of the courts and the presiding judge who are under the Constitution independent in the exercise of their judicial functions. However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have had enquiries made and the Courts Service has informed me that the primary objective for the Service is to maintain the delivery of front line court sittings and services. The Courts Service continuously works to support the judiciary and assist in ensuring that cases are dealt with as effectively and as speedily as possible. Available resources and operational and organisational structures are kept under review to ensure that resources are targeted and focussed on keeping waiting times in the provision of services to a minimum. The increased monetary jurisdiction of the Circuit and District Courts which came into effect in February 2014 should ultimately lead to reduced legal costs for individuals and companies involved in litigation. Other efficiency measures are currently being examined such as extending e-filing which is currently available for small claims and personal insolvency applications and will become available for debt claims when the necessary supporting legislation is in place.
As the Deputy may be aware, the Legal Aid Board grants legal aid to persons on foot of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 to take and defend court proceedings. The authorisation is by way of a legal aid certificate and the majority of certificate types require payment of a financial contribution for the certificate to be effective. An authorisation is only granted if the Board is satisfied that the case meets the 'merits' tests that are set out in the aforementioned legislation. The minimum contribution is €130 and most cases are assessed at the minimum payment. There is a facility to apply to reduce or waive the contribution where not to do so would cause hardship. There are certain case types, notably the defence of applications by the Child and Family Agency regarding children, where no payment is required. Once the certificate is signed and the contribution is discharged, representation is provided.
In addition, the Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011, which has completed Committee Stage in the Dáil and which I expect to commence Report Stage in June, gives legislative expression to the commitment in the Programme for Government to "establish independent regulation of the legal professions to improve access and competition, make legal costs more transparent and ensure adequate procedures for addressing consumer complaints". The Bill makes extensive provision, in Part 10, for a new and enhanced legal costs regime that will bring greater transparency to how legal costs are charged by legal practitioners, along with a better balance between the interests of legal practitioners and those of their clients. Legal practitioners, whether solicitors or barristers, will be obliged to provide more detailed information about legal costs from the outset of their dealings with clients. This will be in the form of a Notice written in clear language which must be provided when a legal practitioner takes instructions. Among other things, the Notice must, as set out in section 117 of the Bill, disclose the costs that are involved, or, where this is not reasonably practicable, the basis upon which such costs are to be calculated. A cooling-off period is to be allowed for the consideration of costs by the client. When there are any significant developments in a case which give rise to further costs, the Bill provides that a client must be duly updated and given the option of whether or not to proceed with the case in question. An aggrieved client also has the option of applying for the taxation of disputed legal costs by the Office of the Taxing-Master. Under the Legal Services Regulation Bill the current functions of the Taxing-Master will be taken over by the new and modernised Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators.
I would expect that, along with those other cost-cutting measures being introduced by the Government in relation to legal services, the new legal costs regime set out in the Bill will help reduce such costs and their impact on clients and will increase access to justice for citizens.
