Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 516: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide details of current waiting times at each legal aid centre; the measures that have been taken to reduce waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15735/12]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I can inform the Deputy that the waiting times as of 1 March 2012 for non-prioritised matters at each of the Board's law centres are set out below. I am aware that the waiting times have got longer since the downturn in the economy and the very significant increase in demand for the Board's services. 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.

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:

The Board has outsourced to private solicitors significantly more work in recent years than it did a number of years ago. There is, of course, a budgetary constraint on what can be referred and it is not possible to accommodate all of the additional demand through private referral.

As of 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. It is recognised that those seeking further services will experience a wait however, 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 service.

Law Centre Maximum current waiting time at 29/02/12 (months)

Dublin

Blanchardstown 6

Blanchardstown 6

Brunswick Street 7

Clondalkin 11

Finglas 5

Gardiner Street 8

Tallaght 8

Cork

Popes Quay 8

Popes Quay 8

South Mall 6

Athlone 5

Castlebar 6

Cavan 5

Dundalk 0

Ennis 6

Galway 5

Kilkenny 8

Letterkenny 4

Limerick 4

Longford 5

Monaghan 1

Navan 6

Nenagh 8

Newbridge 9

Portlaoise 9

Sligo 6

Tralee 5

Tullamore 3

Waterford 6

Wexford 5

Wicklow 8