Mr. Keith Walsh:

I can explain the legal aid system very briefly. It is based on one's income but it is also weighted such that a person might get some credit if he or she has a mortgage, if he or she is the primary carer of the children. It does not just depend on how much a person earns but also on the outgoings and what they are for. Most legal aid is means-tested but it depends on the urgency of it. It is a very bureaucratic system, with hoops to get through of submitting one's financial documentation and being put on a waiting list. I do not think anybody could disagree that more people should be eligible for free legal aid from the Legal Aid Board. It is rigorous because it has been judicially reviewed a number of times about how it conducts its mean-testing. In my dealing with it on behalf of clients, I witnessed it in practice and I worked for the Legal Aid Board for a while. Inside the system, it seems very difficult to get through the hoops of getting legal aid.