Written answers
Tuesday, 26 March 2019
Department of Justice and Equality
Legal Aid Service Staff
Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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582. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of solicitors employed by the Legal Aid Board in each of its law centres in each of the past five years; and the recruitment plans of the board for the next three years. [14220/19]
Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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Figures supplied by the Legal Aid Board for the number of solicitors in each of its law centres and for its central and specialist units for the years from 2013 - 2018 (inclusive) are set out in the following table.
I am advised by the Board that it will carry out recruitment activity over the next three years, including in relation to solicitor grades, within its allocated resources and that recruitment requirements at solicitor grades will be kept under on-going review.
| Law Centres | Total Solicitors 2013 | Total Solicitors 2014 | Total Solicitors 2015 | Total Solicitors 2016 | Total Solicitors 2017 | Total Solicitors 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athlone Law Centre | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Blanchardstown Law Centre | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Brunswick Street Law Centre | 7 | |||||
| Castlebar Law Centre | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Cavan Law Centre | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Clondalkin Law Centre | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Cork North Law Centre | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 |
| Cork South Law Centre | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
| District Court Service | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Dundalk Law Centre | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Ennis Law Centre | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Finglas Law Centre | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Galway (Seville House) | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| Galway Law Centre | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 |
| Gardiner Street Law Centre | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| George's Lane Law Centre | 2 | |||||
| Head of Civil Operations | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| Kilkenny Law Centre | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| LAB-HQ | 1 | |||||
| Legal Services Unit 3 | 2 | |||||
| Letterkenny Law Centre | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Limerick Law Centre | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Longford Law Centre | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Medical Negligence Unit | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Monaghan Law Centre | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Navan Law Centre | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Nenagh Law Centre | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Newbridge Law Centre | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Personal Injuries Unit | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Portlaoise Law Centre | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Private Practitioner Scheme | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||
| RLS Children | 1 | |||||
| RLS Cork and Galway | 2 | |||||
| RLS General | 8 | |||||
| RLS Judicial Review | 2 | |||||
| Sligo Law Centre | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Smithfield Law Centre | 1 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 18 |
| Tallaght Law Centre | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Tralee Law Centre | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Tullamore Law Centre | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| Waterford Law Centre | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Wexford Law Centre | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Wicklow Law Centre | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Total | 128 | 128 | 138 | 143 | 146 | 150 |
Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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583. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of staff allocated to the refugee documentation centre operated by the Legal Aid Board; the qualifications required by the board for a person to work in a research capacity within the unit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14221/19]
Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Legal Aid Board that the Refugee Documentation Centre is an independent library and research function which operates within the Research, Learning, and Development Unit of the Legal Aid Board. At this point in time, the Centre's primary activity is to answer research requests from various asylum agencies, including preparation of country information packs. There are 11 staff members (full-time equivalent) in the Research, Learning, and Development Unit, of whom 6 (full-time equivalent) are dedicated to Refugee Documentation Centre-related work.
Furthermore, I am advised by the Legal Aid Board that no particular specialist or technical qualifications are required to work in the Refugee Documentation Centre.
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