Mr. Philip O'Leary:

I thank the Deputy for her good wishes. She raised a number of issues.

On criminal legal aid, as the board has not yet taken over the substantive scheme, I do not have the details.

A sum of €1.4 million was spent last year under the custody scheme. I cannot give the figures for the individual payments per attendance.

The criminal legal aid scheme has served the country well for the more than 30 years it has been in existence. Thankfully, tere are very few cases involving a miscarriage of justice in this country. We have seen miscarriages of justice in other jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and America. Our system is robust. A defendant has a constitutional right to select his or her own solicitor. When the Deputy says that sometimes the same person stands up in the District Court, it is because the defendant has sought that particular individual who might be very well versed in the particular area of law. I practised for approximately 15 years in the District Court, but that was some time ago.

On the numbers receiving civil legal aid and the Deputy's observation that people do not qualify, the number who qualified last year was just over 17,000. The majority of those cases involved family law matters, including family disputes, domestic violence, custody, access or child care, and take up a considerable length of time.

The question of priority and waiting lists is important. There is no doubt that cases requiring priority, such as domestic violence, are given urgent priority and effectively no waiting lists will apply to a person who is in need of advice on a domestic violence matter. Where a child has been taken into care or where a statutory provision under the Statute of Limitations arises, the cases are carefully examined by the board and are prioritised - I can guarantee the committee of that.

Reference was made to free work by practitioners to get on the civil legal aid scheme. First, the civil legal aid scheme is not free. Contributions are paid. My understanding of the civil legal aid scheme is that any practitioner can apply to go on the panel if he has certain expertise in the family area - that is where most of the referrals go.