Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 482: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the procedures that the Legal Aid Board has in place to ensure persons in custody who require legal representation in family law cases receive such representation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15381/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I can inform the Deputy that the Legal Aid Board (LAB) has general procedures in place for applying for legal services and a person wishing to apply for legal services must complete an application form and submit it to a Law Centre. While an applicant is generally required to vouch his or her income this should not be necessary in the case of persons in custody. The Law Centre, on receipt of the application, then determines whether the case falls within its categories of prioritised matters, and if it does, a solicitor is appointed to take instructions from the applicant as a matter of urgency. An applicant who does not fall within a prioritised category is placed on what is effectively a waiting list and is dealt with in due course.

In the case of an applicant who is serving time in prison, the solicitor normally attends the prison for the purpose of taking instruction. An applicant is required to pay a legal advice contribution and this is €10 in the case of one who is serving time in prison. In the event that court representation is required, the applicant is generally required to pay an additional €40. However, the contribution can be waived on the basis of hardship and the €40 fee is generally waived in certain types of case, e.g. the defence of proceedings on foot of Part IV of the Child Care Act 1991, for persons imprisoned.

The Deputy might also wish to note that in response to concerns expressed about the capacity of applicants serving time in prison to speedily access legal services for the purpose of defending proceedings on foot of Part IV of the Child Care Act 1991 (one of the priority categories as referred to above), the LAB recently wrote to prison governors outlining the process of applying for legal aid and enclosing legal aid application forms.