Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 February 2023
519. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Justice further to Parliamentary Question No. 690 of 10 March 2021, the costs incurred by the Legal Aid Board in case expenditure following decisions to engage private solicitors to provide services to international protection applicants for the period 2015 to the end of 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7236/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Legal Aid Board is the statutory 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.
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 Legal Aid Board. There are 34 full time and 3 part-time law centres and specialised units. Arising from the enactment of the International Protection Act 2015, the Legal Aid Board integrated the Refugee Legal Service into its main law centre network. Specific law centres in Dublin, Cork and Galway currently include an international protection speciality. International protection is one of many services provided by those law centres. The Legal Aid Board also engages private solicitors to provide services in international protection cases. A substantial portion of the Board’s international protection cases are handled by private practitioners.
The following table shows the case expenditure (not including pay or operational costs) in relation to the provision of legal aid and advice in the area of international protection, as provided by the Legal Aid Board.
|
Year |
Non-Pay Expenditure |
|
2015 |
- |
|
2016 |
€75,356 |
|
2017 |
€552,787 |
|
2018 |
€1,050,035 |
|
2019 |
€1,582,789 |
|
2020 |
€1,243,907 |
|
2021 |
€988,873 |
|
2022 |
€2,067,130 |
In Budget 2023, I provided an increased provision of over €7.8 million for the Legal Aid Board bringing its total funding to €53.060 million for this year, a 17% increase on its out-turn for 2022. This will enable the Board to recruit additional staff and meet other costs to enhance delivery of all of its services across the country.
