The Deputy will appreciate that under the terms of the Civil Legal Aid Act, 1995 the principal function of the Legal Aid Board is, within the available resources, to provide legal aid and advice in civil cases to persons who satisfy certain conditions. In this context, the board reviewed the operation of its private practitioner scheme and decided that priority should be given to domestic violence cases and that maintenance, custody and access cases would generally in future be referred to law centres, except where an applicant requires one of these remedies at the same time as a domestic violence remedy.
The Deputy will be aware that the allocation of additional funding and resources to the Legal Aid Board in recent years, up from €10.656 million in 1997 to €17.075 million in 2003, has led to an increase in the services available from the board and to a significant reduction in waiting times.
I can further inform the Deputy that the board operates a procedure whereby priority is accorded for certain categories of cases, for example, domestic violence, child care, child abduction and other cases where there are time limits. These cases are dealt with immediately. Such a system for priorities is necessary to ensure that, for example, persons who are subjected to domestic violence and cases involving the care of children are provided with speedy service. In 2001, the total number of priority appointments offered by law centres was approximately 1,500, or about 22% of the total number of appointments offered to new clients during the year.
I am informed that the board continuously monitors the operation of its law centre network and where waiting times, for whatever reasons, become excessive the position is examined by the board with a view to taking remedial action.
