Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Question 151: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of staff in the Property Registration Authority due to retire by 29 February; the impact of these retirements on services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11654/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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In the period between 01 January and 29 February 2012 a total of 11 staff in the Property Registration Authority have retired or are due to retire. I am advised that the Authority has put arrangements in place to ensure the continued provision of services following staff retirements taking place up to end of February. The Authority is endeavouring to realign responsibilities in all areas to deal with the loss of staff through retirements. Cross functional teams have been set up to process specific areas of casework, on-line services have been extended to free-up staff, areas have been identified in which processes and workflows can be improved and organisational rationalisation has been discussed with Unions. A business case will be made to fill critical posts and an impact analysis exercise to deal with potential loss of legal expertise over the next four years is also planned.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Question 152: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of staff in the Legal Aid Board due to retire by 29 February; the impact of these retirements on services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11655/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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In the period between 01 January and 29 February 2012 a total of 6 staff in the Legal Aid Board have retired or are due to retire. While the loss of any staff will have an impact on services, the Board is continually reviewing its service delivery processes with a view to ensuring that services are provided as efficiently and effectively as possible. In this regard, the Board intends to introduce a new "Triage" system which will be piloted initially in up to eight of the Board's law centres, commencing in March. The main purpose of this initiative is to ensure that clients will be offered an initial appointment with a solicitor for legal advice within a month of applying for legal services. The operation of the Triage system will be critically reviewed on an on-going basis to determine its impact on service provision, including the extent to which clients can be referred to alternative dispute mechanisms, such as mediation, where appropriate. It is envisaged that the approach will be extended nationwide later in the year by the Board. I welcome in particular this approach of seeking alternative means of addressing disputes which might otherwise end up before the Courts which is consistent with Government policy in relation to the resolution of disputes through conciliation and mediation rather than through litigation, where possible.