Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will speak to the section, but I am not challenging it. It deals with costs. My amendment was ruled out of order because it involved a potential charge on the State. In this case, there will be such a charge. I want to ensure that cost will not become a barrier to any woman or family who require access. I know that some of the legal teams are operating on a no award, no fee basis, but that may not always be the case and the volume of cases is likely to go up considerably. I tabled an amendment that would have amended the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 and included in the appropriate section participants in this tribunal. That is all it sought to do. Does the Minister agree with the principle and mechanism? It would be reasonable for legal costs to be covered where they were a barrier to a woman or her family in accessing the tribunal. It is critical that the right level of legal representation be covered. We have sat in courtrooms in which the legal aid barrister has stood up to consult the client for the first time for approximately ten seconds before defending him or her before the judge. That is not the sort of free legal aid about which we are talking in this case. This process will require solicitors and may require senior or junior counsel. The level of legal representation should be appropriate to allow the women concerned have proper legal teams and legal cases made. It should not be the case that they have to reach into a pool of junior solicitors and barristers who come to do their best.