Vol. 421 No. 2
4 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Justice if he will outline the current position in respect of each of the Government law centres providing legal aid and advice to new clients; the number of months or weeks each new client will have to wait, in respect of each centre, prior to having a consultation; and the present position in each centre with regard to new clients who require emergency legal help.
The waiting periods for applicants for legal aid in the various law centres are set out in a tabular statement which I propose to have circulated in the Official Report.
As regards emergency cases, I am informed by the Legal Aid Board that when a person first calls to a law centre the staff ascertain initially if the problem is one that is to be treated as an emergency. If so, the application is processed as quickly as possible having regard to the reasons why the problem was considered to be an emergency in the first instance.
The length of time it takes for a client to secure an initial appointment with a Legal Aid Board solicitor is as follows:
Waiting Periods for Applicants for Legal Aid
|
Athlone |
At present only emergency cases in Athlone are being dealt with. |
|
Castlebar |
A 1 month wait. |
|
Cork, North Mall |
A 6 month wait. |
|
Cork, South Mall |
A 7 month wait. |
|
Dublin, Gardiner Street |
A 10 month wait. |
|
Dublin, Ormond Quay |
An 8-10 week wait. |
|
Dublin, Tallaght |
As new applicants call, they are requested to contact the centre in January 1993 to have their names put on the waiting list. |
|
Dundalk |
A 6 week wait. |
|
Galway |
A 2½ month wait. |
|
Letterkenny |
A 3 month wait. |
|
Limerick |
A 20 month wait. |
|
Sligo |
An 8 week wait. |
|
Tralee |
A 6 month wait. |
|
Waterford |
A 6-8 week wait. |
As the remaining Dublin centre at Aston's Place will be closing on the opening of the new Clondalkin and Finglas centres, no new applications have been taken since March 1991. This centre is now assisting other law centres with their waiting lists.
Will the Minister confirm that over 2,500 people are currently on waiting lists for legal advice in the various law centres throughout the country? Will he confirm it is unlikely that most of those will receive legal advice in respect of their difficulties before the end of the year? Will he also confirm that the overwhelming majority of these people have family and marital problems and that most of them are women?
I cannot confirm the exact numbers on the waiting lists of all the centres but it is true, as the Deputy said, that there are waiting lists and delays in all centres. In some of them the delay is as little as one month——
Where? Name one centre.
Other Deputies may not intervene in respect of priority questions; only the Deputy who tabled the question may ask supplementaries.
Even though Deputy McCartan did not table the question, in case he prompts Deputy Shatter to ask the same question, there is one centre——
I know the answer.
——and, believe it or not, it is in Castlebar, County Mayo. I know that there are waiting lists and we should be doing what we can to get further development in the whole area, which is my intention. There has been progress in that we have opened new centres and recruited new staff and they will be able to deal with an increased number of clients. There will be continuing waiting lists but we are doing our best to address the problem.
Will the Minister confirm that all the centres in the Dublin area are closed to new clients, that the centre in Tallaght has a waiting list in excess of 500 — and is not even adding people to their waiting lists? Why is it that the only law centre which has a waiting list which can be met within one month is in Castlebar? Why are adequate resources not provided to each of the other centres? Is the Minister aware that many of the people waiting for legal help are wives who are at risk of violence and who are vulnerable because of the abject failure of the Government to provide a properly functioning legal aid system? It is a national scandal not to have such a system.
On a point of information, all the four Dublin centres are dealing with non-emergency case but, of course, they all have waiting lists. Other centres have a six or eight weeks' delay but I agree that there is a substantial waiting list in many of the centres. However, we are trying to do something about it. We have recruited extra staff to fill the vacancies; four new posts were authorised last year, which means that more clients can be taken on. Unfortunately, the improvement in staffing has not led to a corresponding improvement in the arrears. I suppose that is because of the high level of demand for the service. Deputy Shatter is right in saying that many cases relate to domestic violence and related matters and we would like to improve the situation. I have had consultations with the board and we hope to be able to do something on a continuing, phased basis.
Will the Minister explain why the Tallaght and Ormond Quay centres are closed at present to new clients? There is a ten to 12 months' waiting list in Gardiner Street, Dublin, a 20 months' waiting list in Limerick and a five to six months' waiting list in the centres in the north and south malls, Cork? Will the Minister agree that it indicates the system has broken down? Is he aware that, because of that, we are now in serious breach of our obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and that this State is at risk of again being brought before the European Court because of its failure to provide a legal aid system to which people who require legal help have reasonable access?
I accept that the scheme will require further development. However, three new law centres were opened last December and we are reorganising the services in Dublin. The Deputy is aware that new centres will be opened in Clondalkin and Finglas——
When?
The Deputy will not hold me to this but I should imagine in about eight weeks. Premises have been identified and the contracts in relation to the matter have been all but cleared.
That is because the Aston Quay centre is closed.
If Priority Question No. 5 is to be disposed of it must be rsponded to now.
Yes, the Aston Quay centre will be closed because there is not the same demand in the centre of the city. One of the new centres will have a complement of three solicitors and the other will have a complement of two solicitors with back-up staff, which will make a big impact on the waiting list.
What about the other centres to which I referred?
There is a waiting list, but the situation is improving. It is based on the service which we can afford with the money avilable to me to give to the boards. We are making the best use we can of it and we are trying to streamline the methods in dealing with the service. The Deputy can rest assured that I will do all I can to improve the services.
Does the Minister intend to take other questions with Priority Question No. 5?
A Cheann Comhairle, unless you allow some leeway it will not be possible to raise supplementary questions.
I will facilitate the Deputy in that regard.
I appreciate that.
