Mary White (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)

For many years, I have been campaigning for a dedicated law centre for Carlow run by the Free Legal Aid Board. I welcome this opportunity to raise this important matter on behalf of the people of Carlow who need this service.

The Legal Aid Board does a great deal of important work. The many legal letters and negotiations it deals with for people are invaluable. It provides legal advice, representations and services for those applying for asylum and it provides research for all organisations involved in the asylum process. We are aware of the demand for legal aid in family law cases is increasing — it increased by 7% last year — in areas such as divorce, separation and child care cases. The 17,500 people who were provided with services in 2006 and the 3,700 people who contacted the board looking for advice is testament to the role the board plays in the justice system. However, Carlow is one of only three counties without a dedicated law centre.

Carlow's legal advice centre only sits for a few hours twice a month, which is not good enough. Carlow is a growing town and the county's population has increased from 46,000 in 2002 to more than 50,000 in 2006. Carlow town had a 3% increase in its population during the same period. We are bursting at the seams and we need a legal advice centre.

Organisations in Carlow such as the South Leinster Rape Crisis Centre and Carlow Women's Aid have contacted me and other public representatives over the years. They want this centre for the people of Carlow. Imagine having no car and being separated, with two or three children and having to travel 24 or 25 miles to Carlow town by bus on a wet, ghastly day like today, looking for the services of the Legal Aid Board to find one has to sit in a room and wait for the service. It is not good enough. If we had a service in Carlow that was open five days a week, people could access it readily — the women and men of Carlow want it.

The settlement pattern of County Carlow is spread out through many small towns and villages and there is a rural hinterland under the Blackstairs close to the Wexford border. The clients who ring me and come to my clinics state they are desperate to get a service in Carlow town. When one must wait several months to be means tested and see a solicitor, the long and time-consuming journeys from rural south Carlow to Kilkenny can eat up much time and disposable income in what are often difficult and traumatic lives for those in question.

The Carlow legal aid centre has seven full-time employees. We would like to squeeze some support from Kilkenny for Carlow. The provision of such a service can be low cost. I am certain that suitable premises could be shared by an existing service provider. I ask the Minster to look favourably on this issue and this modest request. It is in tight economic times that the services such as those provided by the Free Legal Aid Board come into greater focus. Carlow must not be left out of the loop.

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