Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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502. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons on the waiting list for free legal aid and advice, and the average waiting time by area. [35662/17]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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578. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of persons awaiting an appointment for free legal aid services in each county; the average waiting time for an appointment; and the timeframe each person has been waiting, in tabular form. [36444/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 502 and 578 together.

The Legal Aid Board provides civil legal aid and advice pursuant to the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 and the Civil Legal Aid Regulations 1996 to 2016.

I am conscious that there are significant demands on the Board and that this gives rise to waiting times for certain services at most of the Board’s law centres. However, waiting times have been markedly reduced over recent years due to measures introduced by the Board and the Deputy will be glad to know that the Board’s budget was increased by €4.15m in 2017.

I know that the Board is extremely conscious of the fact that delays in service can lead to further difficulties not just for the client but also for children, the wider family and the community, as well as the courts system. In this regard, the Board continues to provide a priority service in respect of a number of areas such as domestic violence, child abduction, child care, and asylum and related matters. In addition, a person admitted to the Abhaile scheme does not need to wait before they are seen by a solicitor for legal advice. All other applications are placed on the waiting list.

An application for civil legal aid and advice can be made at any Legal Aid Board law centre, regardless of the county of residence of the applicant. For that reason, statistics in relation to applications and waiting times are maintained by law centrerather than county. The following table sets out the waiting times for civil legal services as of the 1July 2017 by law centre. I am informed that some law centres operate a ‘triage’ approach, which involves giving an applicant a short consultation (45 minutes) for legal advice. Those persons remain on the Board’s waiting list if they require further legal services and the wait time for this is indicated by the second column. The majority of centres do not currently deem it necessary to operate the ‘triage’ approach.

Legal Aid Board waiting times – 1 July 2017