I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 7 together.
Records of average waiting times for legal aid are not maintained as such. Current maximum waiting times at each of the 30 full-time law centres on 31 March 1997 for persons seeking the services of the Legal Aid Board are set out in the first tabular statement which I propose to circulate in the Official Report. In six centres the waiting time was one month or less. In five centres the time was between one and two months. In eight centres the time was between two and four months. In five centres the time was between four and six months. In four centres the time was between six and eight months and in the remaining two centres the time was greater than eight months.
Waiting times are continually reviewed by the board and where, for whatever reason, they become excessive the position is examined by the board and appropriate remedial action is taken. There are a number of factors that should assist in improving waiting lists in the future. The full impact of the two new law centres, which were opened earlier this year, as well as the two new law centres opened at the end of last year, has yet to be fully felt, particularly by adjacent law centres. This is also true of the additional staff that have come on stream in accordance with the development plan for the service. Meanwhile, the Legal Aid Board is actively engaged in negotiations, urgently seeking to extend the private practitioners scheme outside the Dublin area to which it is currently confined. Extension of the scheme would have a significant impact on the waiting lists.
The information on waiting times at the board's law centres included in the tabular statement refers to the length of time the person who is the longest on each centre's waiting list has been waiting for an appointment with a solicitor at that centre. It would not be possible without the allocation of a disproportionate amount of the board's resources to give an analysis of the progression of applications and cases through their various stages in the process. Where it is considered necessary, the board prioritises certain cases, some of which would fall into the family law category. In addition, an emergency priority service, where applicants are not placed on a waiting list, is provided in certain child abduction cases, proceedings under the Domestic Violence Act, 1996, and the Child Abduction and Enforcement of Custody Orders Act, 1991, and for the defence of child care proceedings under the Child Care Act, 1991.
With the exception of divorce, the Legal Aid Board does not maintain its records in a manner that would make it possible without the allocation of a disproportionate amount of the board's administrative resources to provide a current breakdown of the waiting period for individual law centres in respect of the wide range of family law proceedings in relation to which services are available to eligible persons. However, such information is extrapolated by the board from its records at the end of each year for inclusion in the statistical data contained in its annual report. Between 1989 and the end of 1996, a total of 5,410 legal aid certificates were issued in respect of judicial separation proceedings, of which 1,252 certificates were issued in 1996. The board anticipates that some reduction in the number of persons applying for legal aid in respect of judicial separation will result from the introduction of divorce.
Detail by law centre of the 1,175 persons who, on 31 March 1997, were seeking legal services from the Legal Aid Board in respect of divorce are set out in the second tabular statement which I propose to circulate in the Official Report. This is the latest date for which such figures have been compiled.
Table 1: Waiting times at the 30 full-time law centres on 31 March 1997.
County
|
Law Centre
|
Months
|
Cavan
|
Cavan
|
1
|
Clare
|
Ennis
|
2.5
|
Cork
|
Pope's Quay
|
5
|
|
South Mall
|
7
|
Donegal
|
Letterkenny
|
2
|
Dublin
|
Blanchardstown
|
3
|
|
Clondalkin
|
5
|
|
Finglas
|
2.5
|
|
Gardiner Street
|
7
|
|
Mount Street
|
11
|
|
Ormond Quay
|
2
|
|
Tallaght
|
4
|
Galway
|
Galway
|
3
|
Kerry
|
Tralee
|
1
|
Kildare
|
Newbridge
|
9.5*
|
Kilkenny
|
Kilkenny
|
1
|
Laois
|
Portlaoise
|
6
|
Limerick
|
Limerick
|
2
|
Longford
|
Longford
|
2
|
Louth
|
Dundalk
|
2.5
|
Mayo
|
Castlebar
|
1.5
|
Meath
|
Navan
|
0
|
Monaghan
|
Monaghan
|
1
|
Offaly
|
Tullamore
|
7.5
|
Sligo
|
Sligo
|
4.5
|
Tipperary
|
Nenagh
|
4
|
Waterford
|
Waterford
|
1
|
Westmeath
|
Athlone
|
5.5
|
Wexford
|
Wexford
|
2.5
|
Wicklow
|
Wicklow
|
8
|
(*Figure refers to 10 April 1997.)
Table 2: The number of persons at the various law centres awaiting Legal Aid Board services in relation to divorce.
County
|
Law Centre
|
Number
|
Cavan
|
Cavan
|
2
|
Clare
|
Ennis
|
21
|
Cork
|
Pope's Quay
|
178
|
|
South Mall
|
108
|
Donegal
|
Letterkenny
|
63
|
Dublin
|
Blanchardstown
|
27
|
|
Clondalkin
|
43
|
|
Finglas
|
50
|
|
Gardiner Street
|
57
|
|
Mount Street
|
63
|
|
Ormond Quay
|
22
|
|
Tallaght
|
85
|
Galway
|
Galway
|
70
|
Kerry
|
Tralee
|
54
|
Kildare
|
Newbridge
|
15
|
Kilkenny
|
Kilkenny
|
17
|
Laois
|
Portlaoise
|
22
|
Limerick
|
Limerick
|
27
|
Longford
|
Longford
|
10
|
Louth
|
Dundalk
|
35
|
Mayo
|
Castlebar
|
12
|
Meath
|
Navan
|
0
|
Monaghan
|
Monaghan
|
11
|
Offaly
|
Tullamore
|
15
|
Sligo
|
Sligo
|
18
|
Tipperary
|
Nenagh
|
24
|
Waterford
|
Waterford
|
3
|
Westmeath
|
Athlone
|
36
|
Wexford
|
Wexford
|
49
|
Wicklow
|
Wicklow
|
38
|
Total
|
|
1,175
|
(Average per law centre: 39.17.)