Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 457: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of staff employed by the Legal Aid Board; the number that are located in each of the Dublin and Kerry offices; the number of solicitors employed; the number of law centres and the location of same; the number of solicitors and administrative staff employed in each centre; if it is planned to recruit additional staff; if so, to which location and in what capacity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15041/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I can inform the Deputy that the Legal Aid Board currently employs 340.7 staff, of whom 109.5 are solicitors. The information set out shows the locations of, and the number of staff, solicitors and administrative, working in all of the Board offices and law centres. While the Board has no immediate plans for additional recruitment, it does have a limited and temporary derogation from the moratorium on public service recruitment in order to fill a small number of front-line positions which might become vacant.

The Board has also made a request to fill three solicitor posts which recently became vacant due to retirements. In addition to the above, the Board also recently took over responsibility for the Family Mediation Service, which employs a further 25 staff in whole time equivalents.

Blanchardstown Clondalkin

2.5 solicitors 2.8 solicitors

4.4 support staff 3.6 support staff

Finglas Gardiner Street

4 solicitors 5.6 solicitors

4.6 support staff 7.8 support staff

Tallaght Athlone

3 solicitors 4.1 solicitors

4.6 support staff 4 support staff

Castlebar Cavan

2 solicitors 2 solicitors

3.1 support staff 2 support staff

Cork - Pope's Quay Cork - South Mall

6.6 solicitors 6.9 solicitors

7.6 support staff 6.6 support staff

Dundalk Ennis

1 solicitor 2.8 solicitors

3.2 support staff 4 support staff

Galway Kilkenny

5 solicitors 4.6 solicitors

5.8 support staff 4.7 support staff

Letterkenny Longford

3 solicitors 1 solicitor

4 support staff 2.5 support staff

Limerick Monaghan

3 solicitors 2.6 solicitors

4 support staff 1.8 support staff

4 support staff 1.8 support staff

Navan Nenagh

2 solicitors 2.6 solicitors

3.4 support staff 4.1 support staff

3.4 support staff 4.1 support staff

Newbridge Portlaoise

3 solicitors 2 solicitors

4.5 support staff 2.9 support staff

Sligo Tralee

1.8 solicitors 2.8 Solicitors

3 staff 5 support staff

Tullamore Waterford

2 solicitors 2.6 solicitors

3 support staff 4.5 support staff

Wicklow Wexford

2.6 solicitors 3.7 solicitors

3.5 support staff 4.5 support staff

Georges Lane, Medical Negligence Unit,

Dublin 7 Montague Court, Dublin 2

2 Solicitors 2 Solicitors

4 support staff 3 support staff

4 support staff 3 support staff

Refugee Legal Service Galway Nth Brunswick Street, Dublin 7

2 solicitors 4.5 solicitors

3 support staff 5 support staff

Dolphin House, Dublin 2

2 solicitors

3 support staff

Refugee Legal Service Smithfield, Dublin 7

7.4 solicitors

22.3 support staff

7 IT unit

Research and Information Unit, Montague Court, Dublin 2.

11.5 support staff

Mount St, Dublin 2.

14.6 (including 2 solicitors)

Cahirciveen, Co. Kerry.

43.1

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 458: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the progress made towards amalgamating criminal legal aid, the family mediation services, the Garda legal aid scheme, the CAB legal aid scheme with the Legal Aid Board; the timelines involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15043/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I can inform the Deputy that a new Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Bill is being drafted which will transfer the management and administration of criminal legal aid to the Legal Aid Board. This is in keeping with practice internationally and is intended to achieve a more dedicated focus to the management and delivery of all of the schemes. Subject to drafting, my intention is to transfer the functions in 2013. In the meantime the Board has agreed to manage a number of non-statutory legal aid schemes on an administrative basis which include the Garda Station Advice Scheme, the Attorney General's Scheme and the Criminal Assets Bureau Scheme. Of these, the Board is already administering the Garda Station Scheme and will begin administering the other schemes in the coming months. I understand that this phased transfer is progressing well and I am grateful to the Board for their cooperation.

I can further inform the Deputy that the Family Mediation Service (FMS) was formally integrated into the Legal Aid Board on 1 November 2011, in line with the provisions of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011. As I have set out to the House previously, I am firmly of the view that, in many family law cases, mediation offers a better route and outcome for the parties than the adversarial environment of the courts. The formal integration of the FMS into the Board builds on the joint initiative already in place in the Dublin District Family Law Court at Dolphin House, which provides mediation and legal aid services within the same location. I am confident that the integration of the FMS into the Legal Aid Board will result in a greater use of mediation in a number of areas of family law. The use of mediation in, inter alia , family law matters will be reinforced by the provisions of the new Mediation Bill, the draft general scheme of which I published on 1 of March.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 459: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his views regarding the rise in the demand for civil legal aid at a time when the budget has been reduced; if he foresees a situation whereby some of the work can be outsourced in order to deal with the waiting lists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15046/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I can inform the Deputy that there has been a very significant increase in demand for civil legal aid services from the Legal Aid Board. In 2007, just over 10,164 persons sought legal services from the Board in relation to general civil (non asylum) matters while 2,650 persons sought legal services for asylum related issues. In 2011, the demand for general civil matters had increased to a figure of 18,727 while the number seeking services in relation to asylum matters continued to drop (979). Inevitably the increase in demand has created pressures for the Board and its capacity to deliver legal services within a reasonable period of time. As of 1 January 2012 there were 4,443 persons waiting for a first appointment. This compares to 3,153 on 1 January 2011, 2,335 on 1 January 2010 and 1,681 on 1 January 2009. On 1 March 2012 there were 4,665 persons waiting for a first appointment.

The Board has considerably increased the amount of work that it has outsourced to private solicitors. The Board operates two Schemes involving private solicitors for the purpose of providing services to persons with family problems. The main Scheme, the District Court Scheme, involves the retention of private solicitors on a case by case basis for the purpose of providing legal aid in maintenance, domestic violence, custody, access and guardianship cases. The Board referred 1,977 applicants on foot of this Scheme in 2007. That number rose to 5,200 in 2010 but for budgetary reasons it was necessary to put some constraints on the number in 2011 when 4,854 referrals were made. The Board has budgeted for in or around 5,000 referrals in 2012.

The second Scheme, the Circuit Court Scheme, involves the retention of private solicitors on a case by case basis for the purpose of providing legal aid in divorce and separation cases. The Board has constrained the use of this Scheme in recent years as the cost per case is a multiple of the cost per case of a matter referred on foot of the District Court Scheme. In 2007, 329 referrals were made on foot of the Scheme however only 8 referrals were made in 2011.

The Board's grant-in-aid for general civil matters, which accounts for the vast majority of its funding, has effectively been maintained for 2012 at its 2011 level. I have also now incorporated the grant for asylum services into the grant-in-aid which should give the Board greater flexibility in using its resources.

I can further inform the Deputy that there are a number of other measures taken, or being taken, which I believe can have a positive impact for persons seeking services from the Board as follows:

As of the 1 November 2011 the Board assumed responsibility for the Family Mediation Service (following the enactment of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011). The Board is currently reviewing the operation of the State funded mediation service with a view to achieving synergies with its legal services and better options in terms of resolving family disputes;

The arrangements on foot of which barristers are retained have been in place since 1998 and are currently under review. There will be a level of restructuring of the current arrangements;

The Board is working with individual law centres with a view to trying to deliver greater efficiencies in a number of its centres. It is assisted in this regard by the preparation of a Value for Money Review Report prepared by my Department and the Department of Finance (now the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform); and

The Board will be piloting a 'triage' service to commence very shortly. The objective of the pilot will be to ensure that every applicant for services gets to see a solicitor for the purpose of getting early legal advice within a period of a month. While it is recognised that those seeking further services will experience a wait, it is anticipated that an early consultation will benefit the client in terms of signposting actions the client can take themselves and signposting other support services.