Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 4 Feb 1992

Vol. 415 No. 3

Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Free Legal Advice Centre Funding.

Patrick McCartan

Ceist:

15 Mr. McCartan asked the Minister for Justice if his attention has been drawn to the ongoing financial difficulties being experienced by the Free Legal Advice Centre; if so, if he has received any request for financial assistance from this organisation; if so, if he will give details of his response to the request; if, in view of the importance of the work done by this organisation, he intends to take any steps to ensure its continued operation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

William Cotter

Ceist:

16 Mr. Cotter asked the Minister for Justice if he will respond positively to the letter of 16 January 1992 sent to him by the Free Legal Advice Centre Limited requesting funding to enable FLAC to continue to maintain their services; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Mervyn Taylor

Ceist:

17 Mr. Taylor asked the Minister for Justice if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the free legal aid services provided by the Free Legal Advice Centre will soon be forced to terminate; and if he will outline the urgent steps he proposes to take to recitfy this situation.

Michael Bell

Ceist:

29 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Justice if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the service provided by the Free Legal Advice Centre may be forced to close; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Seán Barrett

Ceist:

31 Mr. S. Barrett asked the Minister for Justice if he intends to provide financial assistance to the Free Legal Advice Centre to enable them to carry on providing the very valuable service to the public in 1992; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Bernard Allen

Ceist:

130 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Justice if he will make a statement on a recent comment made by the chairperson of the Free Legal Advice Centre that the free legal advice service will close early in 1992 unless they receive a substantial increase in funding; and if he will ensure that such a disastrous occurrence will not take place.

Mr. Burke

I propose to take Questions Nos. 15, 16, 17, 29, 31 and 130 together.

I received a letter from FLAC on 17 December last drawing attention to their insufficiency of funding and saying that they required an immediate grant of £40,000 to enable them to carry on their work in 1992.

I gave the request from FLAC very careful consideration and was impressed by the case they made for assistance, in their present difficult financial situation, from public funds for the valuable work which they are doing. However, I was conscious also of the fact that it would not be appropriate for me to direct funds away from the Legal Aid Board in order to assist FLAC and for this reason I was unable at that stage to accede to their request.

Since then I have received a further letter from FLAC and I have been seeking ways and means of providing them with financial assistance in a manner which would not involve diverting funds away from the Legal Aid Board and would not, in the current difficult budgetary situation, entail any increase in the overall provision being made for 1992 in the Justice Group of Votes.

I am pleased to say that I have been able to make special provision on this basis for a grant of £40,000 in 1992 to help FLAC continue in operation and my Department will make the necessary arrangements for payment of this grant as soon as possible.

Mr. McCartan

I thank the Minister for his response. Would he agree that this money, which will add a very important service to the existing Legal Aid Service, is money well spent? Can he give an undertaking tha this Department in the future may consult with FLAC towards the end of each year to find out their budgetary position, and whether they require assistance on an ongoing basis? Does he accept that the current situation where FLAC have to lay off staff in the latter months of the year and go to his Department and elsewhere with the proverbial begging bowl pleading for funds, is not a satisfactory way to show our appreciation for the very good work they do?

Mr. Burke

I share the Deputy's concern about this matter and this is why I took this decision. I also had to be conscious of the civil legal aid scheme, the Government scheme. I am very impressed with the work FLAC have undertaken. I have received numerous representations and elaborations of their role and what they have been doing. I am very pleased to have been in a position to allocate a grant of £40,000 to them for 1992. Again, I share the Deputy's view that it should be a matter of rolling support. A new subhead will be opened in the Department of Justice Estimate so that funding will be provided on an ongoing basis. Hopefully this will put an end to the ludicrous situation where press conferences are called and people are let go.

The long term solution is that the Civil Legal Aid Board would be put on a statutory basis — the plans are going ahead for that — and that we would have an adequate number of legal aid centres around the country. I am very proud that in the last two and a half years I have succeeded in securing considerable additional funds and have opened up new full-time and temporary offices around the country. However, I would like to see the day when there would be at least one office in every major city and county, and that is the aim I have been working towards.

Mr. Cotter

I am happy with the Minister's reply in the sense that he has given a commitment to provide funding. When you consider that a very large number of people in Ireland are denied basic constitutional rights such as access to legal advice and to the courts, this will in some way assist, but it will be only a small contribution to the work that needs to be done in order to provide proper legal aid and advice to citizens. What is the earliest date that money will be made available for this purpose?

Mr. Burke

The intention is that it will be made available as soon as possible, and the Deputy can be assured that there will be no undue delay in this regard.

Mr. McCartan

I fully agree with the views expressed by the Minister in this regard and on behalf of FLAC I extend thanks to him for his support. Is the Minister aware that the organisation seek funding from other quarters for research and other activities and an important source is the two arms of the private profession who make voluntary contributions? Would the Minister be disposed to writing to the two organisations, the Law Society and the Bar Council, expressing the view of this House that they should continue their voluntary support of FLAC as it is an important source of support to them?

Mr. Burke

I have made a major step forward today in, for the first time, recognising in a subhead for the Department of Justice that a contribution will be made to FLAC. That is a major step and is something for which FLAC have fought for many years. The views of the Members will be well known as far as the Law Society and the Bar Council are concerned. On that question, there should be greater involvement of private practitioners in the legal world by way of a back-up to the Civil Legal Aid Board which is very important. Suggestions have been put forward by the Law Society and they are being examined. It is vitally important that the taxpayers should not be asked to carry all the burden, and there is scope for involvement by the private sector to complement the work being done by the Civil Legal Aid Board.