Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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249. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the waiting times and numbers on the waiting list at each of the free legal aid centres; the average waiting times for each of the past five years in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32051/18]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The provision of civil legal aid in the State is delivered by the Legal Aid Board pursuant to the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 and the Civil Legal Aid Regulations 1996 to 2017.

There are significant demands on the Board and I am conscious that this gives rise to waiting times for certain services at most of the Board's law centres. However, waiting times have been reduced over the last number of years due to measures introduced by the Board and the Deputy will be glad to know that the Board's budget was increased to €40.275 m in 2018.

The Board is extremely conscious that delays in service can lead to difficulties not just for the client but also for the wider community, as well as the courts system. In this regard, certain matters are dealt with as priority matters which means they receive the next available appointment at the law centre. Such matters include domestic violence, child abduction, child care, and asylum and related matters. In addition, the Board refers the vast majority of applications relating to private District Court remedies, for example maintenance, custody, access and guardianship, to private solicitors on its panels. 

All other applications are placed on the waiting list. I can advise the Deputy that details of the waiting times in each law centre are published on a regular basis by the Board on their website at this .

Schedule 1 sets out the combined waiting times at each law centre on 31 December 2017 and on 31 December on each of the previous four years.

Schedule 1 – Combined waiting times (weeks) at 31^stDecember, 2013-2017.

* The waiting times as at 31st December 2013 were originally recorded in months and have been converted to weeks for comparability purposes with later data.

**Previously Gardiner Street.

***Law centres operating a “triage” approach. This involves giving an applicant an early legal advice only first consultation (45 minutes). Persons who have received a triage appointment remain on the Board’s waiting list for a second consultation if they require further legal services. The waiting times for a first consultation and the waiting times for a second consultation at the relevant law centres have been added together for the purposes of this table.