Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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4. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality when he will review the disposable income threshold of €18,000 for accessing civil legal aid, which has not been updated since 2006; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54227/25]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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The disposable income threshold for civil legal aid is only €18,000. Incredibly, it has not been updated since 2006. Think of all the cost-of-living crises and everything else we have been through since then. How much additional funding is provided for civil legal aid in the budget? Will it allow for the raising of the threshold very significantly and for abolishing it entirely in cases where domestic violence is a factor?

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy Murphy for this important question. As he has identified, some additional funding has been provided for legal aid in the budget announced this week. I was very pleased to secure an additional €8 million in funding for the Legal Aid Board. I also managed to secure a 50% increase in funding for free legal advice centres. As the Deputy will be aware, in order for the administration of justice to operate effectively, people must have access to the courts. In many areas, we do provide funding for access to the courts. Individuals who are prosecuted for criminal offences and who do not have means get representation under the criminal legal aid scheme. I am pleased to say I have managed to achieve the full restoration of the fees in that scheme next year, subject to agreeing a number of reforms in the area.

The specific issue identified by Deputy Murphy is the fact that, at present, the income threshold applied in order to gain access to civil legal aid is €18,000. A report I recently received from former Chief Justice Frank Clarke recommends it should be increased to €23,500 in disposable income. I agree with that recommendation and would like to see it implemented. However, there are a number of things I need to do before I can announce its implementation.

In the first instance, I recognise that there has not been a change since 2006. There needs to be. Second, if I raise the threshold, which I hope to do, it will necessarily result in a larger cohort of people eligible to receive legal advice from the Legal Aid Board. I need to ensure, in advance of raising the threshold, that I have the solicitors and legal advice providers available to ensure that, once it is raised, the advice can be provided. I am in the process of getting advice from my Department on what level of further legal expertise will be required to facilitate the raising of the threshold. I want to raise it. This has been on my desk for a couple of months now but I am aware of the urgency because of the fact that the threshold has not been changed since 2006.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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I agree this is a question of access to justice. Some people are being denied justice because they are just over the threshold and therefore cannot afford it. A woman has come to me whose daughter is dealing with an abusive ex-partner and is fighting for full custody. She is €50 per week over the current threshold and has therefore had to spend €45,000 on a custody case, which is horrendous.

I note the Minister mentioned the figure of €23,500, which obviously comes from the majority report reviewing the whole scheme. I point out to the Minister and ask him to consider the fact that there is a minority report that argues that figure is still not high enough and will continue to exclude people who require the civil legal aid scheme. I have not done the figures, but I presume if we were just to adjust the figure of €18,000 for inflation from 2006 we would end up with more than €23,500.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware of the minority and majority reports. In many respects, it is beneficial to have two reports. Being realistic, though, my best chance of implementing recommendations is to implement those in the majority report. The Deputy has identified an important area. The area of family law and domestic violence which requires civil orders to be granted is one where it is hard to get other elements of funding provided to it. If somebody wants to take a personal injury case or a contractual case, if they have a good case a principle operates in the legal profession of no foal, no fee. Lawyers will represent the individual concerned and if the case succeeds - and their belief is that it will succeed - they will get their costs paid at the end. In family law, that type of arrangement does not really exist, so this is the area where we need to ensure adequate funding is available.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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To tease that out a little further, does the Minister agree that a different threshold or abolishing the threshold entirely would be appropriate in cases where domestic violence is a factor or in family law cases like that for precisely the reason he outlined? Can the Minister provide any sort of timeframe for when this consideration is likely to be complete? I underline the point that it is not simply about the thresholds; it is also about the amount of resources and the availability of lawyers. Otherwise, people will be able to qualify, but if no lawyers are available and they end up on waiting lists forever, then it will not be worth a whole lot. The figures are quite striking. Figures from February 2025 show a waiting time of up to 46 weeks for a first consultation in Sligo, 37 in Longford, 34 in Tallaght, 31 in Kilkenny and 30 in Cavan, so this issue also needs to be addressed.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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Due to the limitations on resources, I do not think I could find myself in a situation where I would just abolish thresholds. In terms of having different thresholds for family law cases and domestic violence cases, applications to the scheme at present predominantly arise in respect of international protection advice being sought and, indeed, family law advice. Those are the two big cohorts of it. My first priority is to try to get the threshold up to €23,500. That would protect a lot of people in the family law sphere.

In terms of a timeframe, I hope to be in a position to make a decision on this matter next year. I am sorry, perhaps this is not sufficient for the Deputy, but I do not want to set unrealistic expectations. Turning to resources, there is obviously a difficulty in trying to recruit solicitors. They are much in demand in Ireland at present. Many of them are attracted to bigger firms and higher earning areas. It is an issue we need to reflect on regarding what we can do to get solicitors recruited into legal advice boards or aid boards around the country.