Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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1218. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she will consider raising the current thresholds for legal aid. [14366/21]

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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1254. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 296 of 21 January 2021, the stage at which the comprehensive review of the current civil legal aid scheme by her Department is; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14964/21]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1218 and 1254 together.

The Justice Plan 2021, which I published recently, contains a commitment to commence a review of the Civil Legal Aid Scheme this year. In this regard, my Department is currently in the process of scoping the review and it is expected that it will commence in the third quarter of the year. One of the areas which may be considered in the context of the proposed review is eligibility for civil legal aid.

Since the enactment of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 and the making of the Civil Legal Regulations 1996, the Regulations relating to financial eligibility have been substantially revised on three occasions. Applicants for Legal Aid must satisfy both financial eligibility criteria and a test of the merits of their case before they can qualify for legal advice and representation in accordance with the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 and the associated Civil Legal Aid Regulations 1996-2017.

In recognition of the competing demands being made on the legal aid scheme, under Budget 2021, I secured an increased provision of over €2 million for the Legal Aid Board bringing its total funding to €44.6 million for this year representing a 6% increase.