Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I can inform the Deputy that the Legal Aid Board is committed to seeking to ensure that applicants for legal services receive a substantive appointment with a solicitor within a maximum period of four months. This is consistent with the view expressed by the High Court in the O'Donoghue case. Certain types of cases are deemed by their nature to merit the provision of an immediate or near immediate service. Priority cases include those where there are allegations of violence, child custody matters and where statutory deadlines are fast approaching when clients make their first contact with law centres. These comprise some 15% of all applications to law centres. A considerable number of other applications are referred speedily to private practitioners. Thus, up to 40% of all cases receive a very speedy service. In addition, because the Refugee Legal Service operates to strict statutory deadlines every asylum case processed by the board is a priority case by reference to the speed of response from the organisation.

The past three years have seen a considerable increase in demand to the Legal Aid Board for legal services and this coincides with the downturn in the economy. In 2007 just over 10,164 persons sought legal services from the board in regard to general civil non-asylum matters. This figure increased to close to 17,175 in 2010. This amounts to an increase of some 69% in that period. In the first five months of 2011 the demand for services increased by 22% on the same period last year indicating that the increase in demand shows no signs of abating. Inevitably, this has created huge pressures for the law centres and their capacity to deliver legal services within a reasonable period of time. As of 1 June 2011 the waiting time in 16 of the board's 29 law centres was greater than four months. In six of those centres the waiting time was greater than six months. As of 1 June 2011 there were 3,806 persons waiting for a first appointment with a solicitor. This compares to 3,153 on 1 January 2011, 2,335 on 1 January 2010 and 1,681 on the 1 January 2009.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

Civil legal aid in Ireland is delivered through the board's 29 law centres and a small number of specialist units. The service is complemented through the extensive use of private practitioners. Such use has, however, had to be constrained as a consequence of the increased demand and the extent of the board's financial resources to meet this.

The board's grant-in-aid, which accounts for the vast majority of its funding, other than in regard to asylum, has been as follows since 2008: 2008 - €26,988,000; 2009 - €26,310,000; 2010 - €24,225,000; and 2011 - €24,125,000.

Like all public service organisations, the board has also been subject to the public service recruitment embargo and the employee control framework. While the board had a full staff sanction of 384, the current staffing is in the region of 350. The board has sought to maintain its front line staffing to the greatest extent possible.

The board has taken a range of measures with a view to addressing the increasing demand for services in a resource constrained environment. These include increasing the number of cases referred to private solicitors for the purpose of providing a service; an advice-only service which facilitates an earlier brief meeting with a solicitor where applicants are likely to have to wait in excess of four months for a substantive appointment; an integration of the delivery of all services with a view to ensuring the most effective deployment of resources; and the recent introduction of a pilot integrated mediation initiative in Dublin involving the board co-locating and co-operating with the Family Mediation Service and the Courts Service. The purpose of the initiative is to offer applicants for legal services alternatives to litigation in the courts as a better, and from the State's point of view, a more cost-effective means of resolving family law disputes. More of this range of measures include the creation of specialist units for medical negligence and child care services; and the current development of a new legal case management system that is likely to improve the efficiency of service delivery, the management of risk in the organisation and provide for online applications.

The board has also made use of a very limited exemption from the moratorium in regard to a small number of temporary front line service delivery positions.

The board has been operating a work placement scheme in co-operation with FÁS over the past two years and has also utilised a small number of solicitors who have sought experience on a voluntary basis. Under the work placement scheme the board has engaged up to ten solicitors at any one time. The placements are for a maximum of nine months and consist of a commitment to 30 hours per week. The board is very prepared to utilise all avenues available in addressing the huge surge in demand for services, including the intern scheme referred to.

I intend to have a conversation with the chairperson of the Legal Aid Board regarding the utilisation of the new national internship scheme, which is due to commence on 1 July 2011, to temporarily assist in reducing the backlog currently affecting the law centres.

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