I can inform the Deputy that as of 1 June 2011 there were 3,806 persons awaiting a first appointment with a solicitor under the civil legal aid scheme. A breakdown of this figure by county is provided in the following table. The Legal Aid Board does not maintain management information in relation to the nature of the problem for which applicants seek legal services. However, I understand that of the cases in which the Board provided services in 2010 approximately 84% of them related to family disputes, with a further 4% related to children at risk of being taken into care by the HSE. The remainder related to a range of non-family law civil matters.
County
|
Numbers Waiting at 1 June 2011
|
Dublin
|
827
|
Cork
|
434
|
Cavan
|
92
|
Clare
|
113
|
Donegal
|
27
|
Galway
|
74
|
Kerry
|
92
|
Kildare
|
238
|
Kilkenny
|
217
|
Laois
|
205
|
Limerick
|
41
|
Longford
|
82
|
Louth
|
24
|
Mayo
|
120
|
Meath
|
141
|
Monaghan
|
108
|
Offaly
|
106
|
Sligo
|
81
|
Tipperary
|
178
|
Waterford
|
104
|
Westmeath
|
137
|
Wexford
|
236
|
Wicklow
|
129
|
I can further inform the Deputy that there are no waiting lists associated with the criminal legal aid scheme. The assignment of lawyers, or the granting of aid are matters for the Court and, as such, are handled by the judiciary. The Court must be satisfied that, by reason of the "gravity of the charge" or "exceptional circumstances", it is essential in the interests of justice that the applicant should have legal aid. An applicant for criminal legal aid must establish to the satisfaction of the Court that his/her means are insufficient to enable him/her to pay for legal representation him/herself and if the Court is so satisfied it will award criminal legal aid.