Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I apologise on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Michael McDowell, who could not be here. He has also asked me to bring the points made by the Senator to his attention.

As Senators will be aware, the overriding principle underlying the provisions of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 and the Civil Legal Aid Regulations 1996 is to provide legal aid and advice for persons of modest means. Section 5 of the Act provides that the function of the board is to provide, within the resources allocated to it and subject to other provisions of the Act, legal aid and advice in civil cases for persons who satisfy certain requirements set out in the Act and the regulations made thereunder.

Under section 30 of the Act, responsibility for determining how legal services should be provided, including the location of law centres and the staffing required by these centres, is a matter for the board. The Senator will appreciate that the function of the board includes identifying both the level of demand for its services and the most suitable way in which to meet the demand for services.

The Senator will be aware that, to serve the people of Tipperary, the board operates a permanent law centre in Nenagh and two part-time law centres in Thurles and Clonmel. This arrangement offers a reasonable geographic spread for the convenience of applicants throughout the county. The board has informed the Minister that its approved staffing complement for Nenagh law centre is two solicitors and three support staff.

The Minister has also been informed that at the end of January the number of persons on the waiting lists in Nenagh, Thurles and Clonmel was 45, 32 and 87, respectively. The waiting times, based on the person longest on the waiting list, at the three locations was ten months, 10.25 months and 11 months, respectively.