Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 284: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will put in place a system of free legal aid for persons facing repossession; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5885/09]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to inform the Deputy that the all applications for legal aid are considered on an individual basis and decisions taken on whether or not to grant legal aid by reference to the general merits criteria set out in the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995, including the prospects of successfully defending the proceedings and the likely cost of providing legal representation as against the likely benefits to the applicant from being granted legal aid.

The Legal Aid Board have confirmed that all applications for legal aid are dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995. Section 28 (9) (a) of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 provides that, "(ii) disputes concerning rights and interests in or over land" are designated matters and therefore outside the scope of legal aid.

Notwithstanding this general exclusion, the Act provides that legal aid may be granted in respect of certain such disputes, primarily involving family law matters. However, if an application for legal aid is made as a result of a lack of resources to meet mortgage repayments and there are no issues regarding the validity of the mortgage, it is considered unlikely that legal aid would be granted to defend proceedings of this nature.(Section 28 (9) (a) of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 refers).

For the sake of completeness, I refer the Deputy to my answer to Question No. 292 of 29th October, 2008 in relation to recovery of a civil debt.