John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

On behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter today. The Minister is aware that the Deputy met his predecessor earlier this year and had a useful and thorough discussion of the issues arising, during which the Deputy had an opportunity to set out her concerns regarding access to civil legal aid services in Carlow.

Civil legal aid services in Ireland are delivered and managed by the Legal Aid Board, in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Legal Aid Act and regulations. The board's mandate is to provide a professional, efficient, cost-effective and accessible legal aid service and the Department works closely with the board at a strategic level to support it in delivering on this objective. Of significance is the grant-in-aid provided to the board by the Department, which represents its primary source of funding. The Minister is pleased to state this has increased substantially in recent years, by 40% since 2003. The eligibility criteria for legal aid have also been updated and streamlined in recent years, greatly increasing the accessibility of the scheme to persons of modest means.

While the funding provided is significant, there are undoubtedly many demands on the board's services and hence the efficient use of the resources available is of great importance. The detailed management of these resources is a matter for the board to assess, taking into account the level of demand for services and the needs of its clients generally. A key indicator at national and local level has been the waiting time for appointments with a solicitor and, while this would certainly not be the sole yardstick by which the board's services should be measured, it nevertheless represents an important strategic focus. The additional resources provided in recent years have been of great assistance in addressing this question but, as I indicated on behalf of the Minister, the demands and the challenges of managing the service are considerable.

In so far as the provision of services specifically in Carlow is concerned, the Minster would like to confirm for the information of the House that the board operates a part-time clinic in Carlow, which is supported by the full-time centre in Kilkenny. The Minister understands the Carlow clinic is normally held on the first and last Fridays of every month or by appointment as necessary. In 2007, 176 clients of the Kilkenny centre had Carlow addresses. Persons living in Carlow can also attend centres in other adjacent counties if for any reason this would be more convenient.

The Minister is further advised by the board that it is satisfied its clients in the Carlow area get a good service and that the board keeps the arrangements for providing the service under review. In addition to the ongoing oversight of the service, the board is engaged upon a broader review of the efficiency and effectiveness of the legal services being delivered by the law centres throughout the country. This review will examine how services are provided nationwide, examining the case profile at each centre as well as the costs of providing services and the various means by which legal needs can be delivered. The review will make recommendations designed to facilitate the provision of a flexible and responsive service to the client while providing value for money to the taxpayer.

One issue the Minister understands will be examined under the review is the extent to which the board provides services though part-time centres and he will pass on for the board's consideration the issues raised by the Deputy. However, opening additional full-time centres in Carlow, or another location, would have fixed cost implications for the board associated with acquiring and maintaining the centre and staffing it on a full-time basis. In an environment of considerable financial pressures, the Minister has a concern that this might not necessarily represent the best use of resources and could be counterproductive not only to the service generally, but also to the clients a new centre would aim to serve. The Minister understands waiting times at the Kilkenny centre, whether for clients living in Carlow, Kilkenny or elsewhere, are well within the board's performance targets and compare favourably to other centres. Diluting resources might make this more difficult to maintain.

In any event, the Minister will await the outcome of the board's general review of its services and assess its findings in the context of how best to support the board in assisting persons in need of its service, given the many demands that will be made on the resources available to it and to the Department.

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