I thank the Office of the Ceann Comhairle and yourself for facilitating my raising the matter in the House this evening. I thank the Minister of State for coming in to listen to what I have to say. I do have to say that although I argued strongly for the appointment of a Junior Minister to the Department of Justice I did not intend that to mean that the Minister himself would disappear off the Oireachtas face. I wonder whenever, if ever, the Minister will return to listen to some of the issues raised during the Adjournment Debate.
The point I wish to make very succinctly is that the civil legal aid scheme is in a shambles, particularly in Dublin, the area that I am more in touch with and more aware of. Nothing illustrates that better than the fact that a board appointed to administer the business of legal aid generally can and should consist of 13 members but currently has five members. That position has arisen because some members simply departed in protest — one remembers that the chairman, the vice-chairman and others did so last year — and others then ceasing to hold office by reason of their five year term running out in March of this year. All of that might be very well — the board is "quorate"— but for the fact that under the scheme as it exists there is a positive duty on the Minister to ensure that a sufficient number of experienced members are retained to enable the board to discharge their functions effectively. One vital activity of the board cannot function at all because of the absence of numbers, that is the hearing of appeals against people aggrieved and who have not been granted legal aid in the first instance by a certifying committee of three.
The problem for those who work in legal aid and are concerned to maintain a national effective system, is that this inexplicable failure by the Minister reflects so poorly on them and on any commitment by Government and the Minister to maintain a national effective system.
Under section 4.2. of the scheme of civil legal aid an application for aid must be certified by a committee made up of three members of the board. If an application for civil legal aid is refused the person may, under section 4.7 of the scheme, appeal to an appeals committee, which has to be made up of the chairman and four members of the Legal Aid Board.
However, persons who were members of a certifying committee may not serve on an appeals committee. So for the board to function properly and to carry the functions assigned to them there needs to be a minimum of eight members on the board. This is where the current difficulty arises. As I understand it, there is now only the chairman and four ordinary members of the board. In other words, it is impossible to come up with an appeals committee of five members who have not also been members of the certifying committee.
I understand that many people who have been refused legal aid have appealed and have been waiting since March and earlier to have those appeals determined. They are still waiting. I understand also that there are writs in the offing to be launched in the High Court in the very near future to seek to mandate the Minister to fulfil his functions under the scheme and to fulfil his commitments in this area. This might press home on the Minister of State the urgency of this matter.
The result is that people who have had their applications for legal aid turned down are being denied the right of appeal provided under the scheme. This has been the situation since the term of office of several members of the board expired in March last. My understanding is that these have not since been replaced.
The failure of the Minister for Justice to ensure that there is the minimum number of board members required is unforgivable, but perhaps not surprising, considering the shoddy and half hearted approach of successive Governments to the civil legal aid system. Indeed, the situation was so bad that we know several members of the board were forced to resign to highlight the situation.
The civil legal aid system has been systematically starved of funds and staff working in the centres have been placed under enormous stress. In Dublin about which I am most informed, there is a two month waiting list for new clients to have an appointment in any of the four centres. From 20 May, I understand that all four centres closed their doors to new applications.
It may well be that the situation remains so bad that people, and, especially lawyers, are unwilling to serve on the board, although I doubt that this is the situation. There is simply an obligation on the Minister to fill the positions on the board without further delay. I would ask the Minister to do that. It is also time that the membership of the board was extended to include people representing those who have to avail of the services of the legal aid centres. For instance, legal measures to curb domestic violence are a major part of the work of the legal aid centres. Why should the Minister not appoint to the board a representative of AIM, or one of the other organisations assisting battered women?
The failure of the Minister to appoint board members is one of the worst cases of ministerial negligence I have come across in my years in the Dáil.
I would urge the Minister and the Minister of State to act to appoint members without further delay.
