Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to hear about the review group but I am looking for a timescale. Every day I have people who come into my office who are over the financial threshold and they are not getting the assistance they need. The Chief Justice's working group this summer referenced that the budget for legal aid was around €50 million but there was a huge unmet legal need in family law and employment law and there are areas like disability that are not really being dealt with enough by the Legal Aid Board or independent law centres. I am particularly concerned about those who are fleeing domestic violence. Legal aid is supposed to be free for people who are facing domestic violence. It does not seem right that the people who need it are not getting it. Perhaps the Minister of State will come back to me on those points.

See this speech in context