Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

These Revised Estimates relate to several matters, including costs associated with international protection accommodation and the purchase of the Citywest Hotel, funding for criminal legal aid, and the criminal injuries compensation scheme agus ba mhaith liom aghaidh a thabhairt ar roinnt de na sean áiseanna seo.

While the justice committee had a very constructive engagement with the Minister yesterday, it should be put on the record that there is a long way to go in addressing the costs associated with the provision of IPAS accommodation. Tá go leor ceisteanna le freagairt fós agus tá an iomarca airgid á caitheamh fós. There needs to be a thorough examination of previous IPAS contracts signed. The Minister argues that contracts were signed under pressure due to the number of those in need of accommodation in the IPAS system at that stage. However, I contend very strongly that this does not remove us from the responsibility to ensure there is accountability and probity in how public money is and was spent. People have become millionaires through the provision of IPAS accommodation and have built companies solely for this purpose. We have to ask how companies secured contracts for what were sometimes eye-watering amounts, including where they had little or no record in the provision of such services. While the Minister argues that he is making changes, the reality is that a record figure of more than €120 million was paid for IPAS accommodation in July alone.

That is the latest month for which figures are available.

The Minister mentioned at the committee that there is now a rate card with regard to what will be paid for IPAS accommodation. He also signalled that this will not be made public. I am strongly of the view that the lack of transparency that was at the heart of spending on IPAS accommodation allowed that system to get out of hand. There needs to be more transparency and accountability. There also needs to be engagement with communities with regard to the location of IPAS accommodation. That includes cases such as the purchase of the City West Hotel, where State-run facilities are being developed. We all support the concept of State-run facilities, but that does not mean we neglect our responsibilities to engage with communities on matters that affect them.

I am aware the Minister has a large number of items on his agenda; however, I would put it to him that many things are still taking far too long to sort out. While there is an increase in these further Revised Estimates with regard to criminal legal aid, nothing has been done to sort out the crisis with respect to access to civil legal aid. I welcome the publication of the review of civil legal aid, but it should not have taken three years to complete. I have also welcomed proposals to increase eligibility thresholds though there are now serious questions about whether what is proposed is adequate. While implementation of many of the recommendations in that report will take some time, there are things the Minister needs to do without further delay. There needs to be urgent action regarding the fact that many people - and I am particularly talking about women trying to get barring orders in respect of abusive partners - are unable to secure civil legal aid representation. That is because of the level of the fees that are paid, which has remained unchanged since 2012, and the structure as to how those fees are paid. This has resulted in a situation that I brought to the attention of the House previously whereby those who have been granted civil legal aid certificates cannot find solicitors to represent them because fewer solicitors are taking on this work. The impact of this is that some people who are trying desperately to escape domestic violence situations are locked out of access to civil legal aid. That is unacceptable.

Recommendation 22 in the report to which I refer that report states:

An immediate review of the Legal Aid Board's capacity to administer the current Civil Legal Aid Scheme should be conducted by the Department ... in consultation with the Legal Aid Board.

The report recommends that this review should examine the Legal Aid Board's ability to recruit and retain in-house solicitors and sufficient external expertise and look at the salaries of current and future in-house solicitors, private practitioner fees and counsel fees. Has the review been initiated? If not, why?

The Minister will recall that I have raised with him on a number of occasions the issue of the adequacy of the criminal injuries compensation scheme and the lack of progress with putting it on a statutory footing. The Minister admitted during the discussion on the Revised Estimates at the committee in June that the fund gets exhausted early in the year, with people who endured serious injuries forced to wait until the following year for compensation in respect of serious and life-changing criminal injuries.

We welcome the additional allocation in the Revised Estimate today, but the scheme needs to be reformed, put on a statutory basis and properly funded. The Minister referred to the case of Blanco v.Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal, and the implications of that case with regard to what victims of crime can be compensated for. Arising from the case in question, a number of other cases have been referred to the Criminal Courts of Justice and a response is due in the coming months. The case to which I refer was taken by a man who, despite having received very serious life-changing injuries and a loss of earnings, received just €645 in compensation four years after a violent assault. While there is a broad agreement that the scheme needs to be properly funded and placed on a statutory basis, it is disappointing that the Minister indicated to that justice committee that this might not happen this year or even next year. That is not good enough, and it is also not good enough to say, as was said at the committee, that people will eventually get their money. Of course, that is the very minimum they should be entitled to but we also need to get to a point where the Minister is in a position to make a commitment that this scheme will be properly funded for 2026. I would appreciate it if the Minister could outline whether he intends to bring such a proposal forward in the context of budget 2026.

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