John Lyons (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 171: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the average waiting period by county, to access free legal aid services in 2009 and 2010; the waiting times by county; his plans to address these waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17715/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I can inform the Deputy that, while it is difficult to quantify average waiting times for access to free civil legal aid services, the information below provides a breakdown of the waiting time for a non-prioritised matter in each County for 2009 and 2010. On the matter of the Legal Aid Board's plans to address the waiting times the Deputy might wish to review the detailed information provided in Parliamentary Questions number 1 and 15 of 23 June 2011 in which I explained the background to the increased waiting times and the measures that the Board has taken to try to alleviate the problem.

I can inform the Deputy that, while it is difficult to quantify average waiting times for access to free civil legal aid services, the information below provides a breakdown of the waiting time for a non-prioritised matter in each County for 2009 and 2010. On the matter of the Legal Aid Board's plans to address the waiting times the Deputy might wish to review the detailed information provided in Parliamentary Questions number 1 and 15 of 23 June 2011 in which I explained the background to the increased waiting times and the measures that the Board has taken to try to alleviate the problem.

I can further inform the Deputy that there are no waiting lists associated with the criminal legal aid scheme. The assignment of lawyers, or the granting of aid are matters for the Court and, as such, are handled by the judiciary. The Court must be satisfied that, by reason of the "gravity of the charge" or "exceptional circumstances", it is essential in the interests of justice that the applicant should have legal aid. An applicant for criminal legal aid must establish to the satisfaction of the Court that his/her means are insufficient to enable him/her to pay for legal representation him/herself and if the Court is so satisfied it will award criminal legal aid.

John Lyons (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 172: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons by county currently waiting to access free legal aid services: if he will provide a breakdown of the nature of the applications that is family law and so on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17716/11]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I can inform the Deputy that as of 1 June 2011 there were 3,806 persons awaiting a first appointment with a solicitor under the civil legal aid scheme. A breakdown of this figure by county is provided in the following table. The Legal Aid Board does not maintain management information in relation to the nature of the problem for which applicants seek legal services. However, I understand that of the cases in which the Board provided services in 2010 approximately 84% of them related to family disputes, with a further 4% related to children at risk of being taken into care by the HSE. The remainder related to a range of non-family law civil matters.

I can inform the Deputy that as of 1 June 2011 there were 3,806 persons awaiting a first appointment with a solicitor under the civil legal aid scheme. A breakdown of this figure by county is provided in the following table. The Legal Aid Board does not maintain management information in relation to the nature of the problem for which applicants seek legal services. However, I understand that of the cases in which the Board provided services in 2010 approximately 84% of them related to family disputes, with a further 4% related to children at risk of being taken into care by the HSE. The remainder related to a range of non-family law civil matters.

I can further inform the Deputy that there are no waiting lists associated with the criminal legal aid scheme. The assignment of lawyers, or the granting of aid are matters for the Court and, as such, are handled by the judiciary. The Court must be satisfied that, by reason of the "gravity of the charge" or "exceptional circumstances", it is essential in the interests of justice that the applicant should have legal aid. An applicant for criminal legal aid must establish to the satisfaction of the Court that his/her means are insufficient to enable him/her to pay for legal representation him/herself and if the Court is so satisfied it will award criminal legal aid.