The Legal Aid Board (“the 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 (the “Act”) and the Civil Legal Aid Regulations 1996 to 2021. Section 3(3) of the Act provides that the Board shall, subject to the provisions of the Act, be independent in the exercise of its functions. However, to be of assistance to the Deputy I have had enquiries made with the Legal Aid Board on foot of which the following information is provided.
Civil legal aid and advice is provided primarily through a network of law centres by solicitors employed by the Board. There are 34 full-time and 3 part-time law centres. Specific law centres in Dublin, Cork and Galway include an international protection speciality and there are also dedicated units in Dublin dealing with personal injury and/or medical negligence cases and cases involving children at risk. Family mediation services are provided through 10 full-time offices and 10 part-time offices.
The Board also engages private solicitors to supplement the services provided by Board solicitors in certain areas of law on a case-by-case basis, those areas of law being; District Court family law matters, Circuit Court judicial separation and divorce cases, international protection cases, and cases on foot of the Abhaile scheme.
Table A below shows the number of legal aid certificates issued for the years requested by the Deputy.
Table A
|
Year
|
2016
|
2017
|
2018
|
2019
|
2020
|
2021
|
|
No. Legal Aid Certificates Issued
|
9,583
|
11,695
|
13,418
|
14,729
|
11,773
|
11,933
|
Under its Customer Care Charter, the Legal Aid Board provides a range of remedies for persons who are in receipt of its services and who are in some way dissatisfied with the service being provided. A person may, for example, submit a change of solicitor request, or may submit a complaint, or both. Table B below provides detail regarding the number of matters raised in respect of solicitors employed directly by the Board providing services through its network of law centres during the years sought by the Deputy.
Table B
|
Complaints against Law Centre Solicitors
|
2016
|
2017
|
2018
|
2019
|
2020
|
2021
|
|
Complaint
|
86
|
112
|
74
|
66
|
76
|
72
|
|
Change of solicitor request
|
27
|
19
|
19
|
2
|
29
|
16
|
|
Complaint and change of solicitor request
|
0
|
13
|
27
|
56
|
2
|
21
|
|
Total
|
113
|
144
|
120
|
124
|
107
|
109
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Table C below provides information on matters raised in respect of members of the Board’s private solicitors panel who provided legal advice/and or aid during the years sought by the Deputy. It should be noted that some complaints may have been received in relation to cases that were referred to the private solicitors panels in years prior to the year the complaint was received.
Table C
|
Complaints against Members of the Private Solicitors Panels
|
2016
|
2017
|
2018
|
2019
|
2020
|
2021
|
|
Complaint
|
96
|
22
|
23
|
20
|
15
|
10
|
|
Change of solicitor request
|
8
|
123
|
109
|
5
|
30
|
85
|
|
Complaint and change of solicitor request
|
0
|
20
|
31
|
162
|
115
|
76
|
|
Total
|
104
|
165
|
163
|
187
|
160
|
171
|
Finally, with regard to the budget allocated to the Legal Aid Board in the period sought, the position is as outlined in Table D below.
Table D
|
Year
|
Total (rounded figure in millions)
|
|
2016
|
€34.8m
|
|
2017
|
€39m
|
|
2018
|
€40.3m
|
|
2019
|
€40.8m
|
|
2020
|
€42.2m
|
|
2021
|
€44.6m
|
