The Civil Legal Aid Scheme is an important element of supporting access to justice, particularly for those of modest means.
Since the enactment of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 and the making of the Civil Legal Regulations 1996, the Regulations relating to financial eligibility have been substantially revised on three occasions. Applicants for legal aid must satisfy both financial eligibility criteria and a test of the merits of their case before they can qualify for legal advice and representation.
In recognition of the competing demands being made on the legal aid scheme, under Budget 2021, Minister McEntee secured an increased provision of over €2 million for the Legal Aid Board bringing its total funding to €44.6 million for this year representing a 6% increase.
The Minister for Justice is empowered under Section 27 of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 to prescribe, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, certain courts for the purposes of legal aid including proceedings conducted before an officer of such court or tribunal, by its direction and proceedings under Article 177 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, signed at Rome on the 25 March 1957.
In that regard, my Department is currently in the process of scoping the review of the Civil Legal Aid Scheme and it is expected that it will commence in the third quarter of the year. One of the areas which may be considered in the context of the proposed review is eligibility for civil legal aid.
I understand that the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, an independent body under the auspices of the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth can also provide practical assistance, including under specific circumstances, legal representation, to persons in vindicating their rights under human rights and anti-discrimination legislation, in particular under the Employment Equality Acts 1998–2015, the Equal Status Acts 2000–2015, the European Convention on Human Rights Acts 2003 and 2014, and more generally in relation to the protection and promotion of human rights and equality.
