The Legal Aid Board does not process information relating to the length of waiting lists for free legal aid. However, it records the time the person longest on the waiting list has waited. The following table shows the length of time the person longest on the waiting list has waited as of April 2004 by law centre.
The board operates a procedure whereby priority is accorded for certain categories of cases over other cases, for example, domestic violence, child care and cases where there are time limits. These cases are dealt with immediately. The total number of priority appointments offered by law centres in 2003 was approximately 1500 or almost 22% of the total number of appointments offered to new clients during the year. The board continually monitors the waiting times and is seeking to utilise resources in such a way as to reduce them at centres with particularly long waiting times.
Funding is allocated to the board by way of a grant-in-aid and that funding is not allocated by me to individual law centres. In this regard the Deputy may be interested to note that the grant-in-aid for 2004 is €18.388 million, an increase of almost 5% over the 2003 provision of €17,539 million. The level of resources provided to the Legal Aid Board in recent years has increased significantly. The grant-in-aid available to the board in 1997 was €10.656 million. The figure for 2004 represents an increase of almost 73% during this period.
Law Centre
|
Maximum Waiting Time in Months in April, 2004
|
Athlone
|
3.00
|
Castlebar
|
2.00
|
Cavan
|
2.75
|
Cork, Popes Quay
|
7.00
|
Cork, South Mall
|
12.00
|
Blanchardstown
|
9.75
|
Clondalkin
|
3.00
|
Finglas
|
13.75
|
Gardiner Street
|
7.25
|
Brunswick Street
|
11.50
|
Ormond Quay
|
3.00
|
Tallaght
|
10.75
|
Dundalk
|
7.50
|
Ennis
|
12.25
|
Galway
|
7.00
|
Kilkenny
|
12.25
|
Letterkenny
|
9.50
|
Limerick
|
5.00
|
Longford
|
0.00
|
Monaghan
|
3.50
|
Navan
|
11.75
|
Nenagh
|
4.50
|
Newbridge
|
12.00
|
Port Laoise
|
17.00
|
Sligo
|
5.00
|
Tralee
|
5.00
|
Tullamore
|
2.25
|
Waterford
|
4.50
|
Wexford
|
6.50
|
Wicklow
|
10.00
|