Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

If one were to remove the adjectives "severe" and "undue", one would be left with the word "hardship" which could describe any number of circumstances. An attempt must be made to ensure the hardship being experienced is objectively causing a difficulty for the individual. As I indicated, we do not want to achieve a reduction in a person's immediate disposable income. Rather, we want to ensure the service is available to persons in a difficult financial position. That is the reasoning for the inclusion of the words "severe" and "undue".

The Legal Aid Board will continue to decide what is "undue" hardship. This gives it a degree of robustness in terms of its independence. The availability of free legal aid will not be affected by the proposals.

While I do not have figures to hand on waiting times for legal aid, I am sure the Department will undertake to provide them for Deputy Rabbitte.

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