Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 November 2021
480. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Justice if she will provide an update on the current membership and remaining tenure of the Legal Aid Board; the annual budget provided by her Department; the number of applications for legal aid; the number of certificates granted on a monthly basis between January 2019 and October 2021, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58465/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Legal Aid Board is the statutory, independent body responsible for the provision of civil legal aid and advice to persons of modest means in the State, in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 and the Civil Legal Aid Regulations 1996 to 2021.
On 10 November 2021, I was pleased to announce the appointment of a new Board for the period 1 November 2021 to 31 October 2026, chaired by Ms Nuala Jackson SC. The Board members are:
- Mr. Liam Ryan, Solicitor
- Mr. Patrick Durcan, retired District Court Judge
- Mr. Michael Bourke, Solicitor (Retired)
- Ms. Marianne Nolan, Officer of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
- Ms. Catherine Ryan, staff member of the Legal Aid Board
- Ms. Niamh O’Hanlon, staff member of the Legal Aid Board
- Mr. Gordon Jeyes, Former Chief Executive of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency
- Ms. Freda McKittrick, Assistant Director, Barnardos
- Ms. Nuala Egan, Barrister
- Ms. Catherine Keane, Solicitor
- Ms. Tracy O'Keeffe, Officer of the Minister for Justice
- Mr. Maurice Lawlor, Officer of the Minister for Social Protection
Although independent in the exercise of its functions, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, I have asked the Legal Aid Board for the details sought by the Deputy. The Board has provided me with the following information, as set out in the tables below.
Table 1 outlines the number of applications for civil legal aid services received at the Board’s law centres during the years 2019, 2020 and 2021 by calendar month. Table 2 shows the number of legal aid certificates issued during the years 2019, 2020 and 2021 by calendar month.
Table 1: No. of applications for civil legal aid
|
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
|
|
January |
1846 |
1918 |
1101 |
|
February |
1643 |
1675 |
1272 |
|
March |
1583 |
1071 |
1406 |
|
April |
1573 |
488 |
1241 |
|
May |
1554 |
878 |
1221 |
|
June |
1456 |
1032 |
1395 |
|
July |
1561 |
1345 |
1288 |
|
August |
1401 |
1145 |
1052 |
|
September |
1590 |
1499 |
1409 |
|
October |
1560 |
1385 |
1359 |
|
November |
1356 |
1298 |
|
|
December |
874 |
649 |
|
|
Total |
17997 |
14383 |
12744 |
Table 2: No. of legal aid certificates issued
|
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
|
|
January |
1297 |
1328 |
923 |
|
February |
1278 |
1311 |
1032 |
|
March |
1373 |
928 |
1166 |
|
April |
1215 |
427 |
972 |
|
May |
1366 |
737 |
1110 |
|
June |
1110 |
936 |
1063 |
|
July |
1198 |
1082 |
984 |
|
August |
1004 |
790 |
697 |
|
September |
1352 |
1195 |
1134 |
|
October |
1298 |
1152 |
1105 |
|
November |
1094 |
1117 |
|
|
December |
1144 |
770 |
|
|
Total |
14729 |
11773 |
10176 |
