Mary Lou McDonald
Ceist:1412. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Justice the number of solicitors, by county, providing civil legal aid in 2021 and to date in 2022, in tabular form. [43053/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 8 September 2022
Ceisteanna (1412)
Freagraí scríofa
The Legal Aid Board is 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. The Board delivers these services through directly employed solicitors in its network of law centres around the country and private solicitors from its private practitioner panels.
The Board operates a total of 34 full-time law centres along with a number of part-time centres. It also operates 20 family mediation centres. Eight of the law centres and family mediation offices are co-located.
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.
I am informed that the Board deals with certain matters as priority matters, which means they receive the next available appointment at the law centre or are referred to a private practitioner. Such matters include domestic violence, child abduction, child care, asylum and related matters. All other applications are placed on the waiting list.
In the District Court, the vast majority of private family law cases, including domestic violence cases, are currently referred out to private solicitors and are not kept waiting, particularly if they have court cases pending.
I am further informed that the Board does not have law centres in counties Carlow, Leitrim, or Roscommon but provides part-time clinics in those counties serviced by staff in adjoining counties. Any member of the public is entitled to apply for legal services at any Legal Aid Board law centre regardless of their place of residence.
The Deputy will appreciate that the numbers employed in law centres and on the Panel vary from time to time and that any exercise to count the numbers is a point-in-time exercise. It is also the case that solicitors may decide to stop doing legal aid work either for a period or permanently, and unless they notify the Board formally of their wish to resign their membership of the Panel, their name will remain on the Panel. The Board advises that it is actively seeking to address this and to keep the Panel as up-to-date as possible.
The table below sets out, on a county by county basis, as of 30 June 2022:
(a) the number of solicitors (full time equivalent numbers) employed at the Board’s law centres (excluding those dedicated full time to international protection, certain torts matters, and the Board’s legal service for members of the Traveller community);
(b) the number of solicitors on the Board’s District Court Private Family Law Solicitors Panel (which deals with domestic violence, among other types of matter).
|
County |
Number of FTE solicitors in law centres(s) located in county |
Number of solicitors on solicitors panel whose office is located in county |
|
Carlow |
0 |
14 |
|
Cavan |
1.9 |
6 |
|
Clare |
3 |
11 |
|
Cork |
12.7 |
78 |
|
Donegal |
2.8 |
30 |
|
Dublin |
20.2 |
149 |
|
Galway |
10.2 |
45 |
|
Kerry |
4 |
27 |
|
Kildare |
2 |
23 |
|
Kilkenny |
4 |
3 |
|
Laois |
3 |
2 |
|
Leitrim |
0 |
4 |
|
Limerick |
4 |
29 |
|
Longford |
1.8 |
17 |
|
Louth |
2 |
32 |
|
Mayo |
2.9 |
3 |
|
Meath |
3 |
21 |
|
Monaghan |
2.73 |
5 |
|
Offaly |
2 |
7 |
|
Roscommon |
0 |
11 |
|
Sligo |
3 |
11 |
|
Tipperary |
3.6 |
9 |
|
Waterford |
2.8 |
8 |
|
Westmeath |
3.5 |
19 |
|
Wexford |
2.6 |
9 |
|
Wicklow |
2 |
13 |
|
Northern Ireland |
n/a |
1 |
While the table includes those on the Solicitors Panel whose office is located in the county concerned, it is open to solicitors who are located in a particular county to provide a service in courts in other counties. It is also open to solicitors based outside of the jurisdiction but who are also entered on the Roll of Solicitors in Ireland to have their name entered on the Panel, and one Northern Ireland solicitor has done so.