Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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1148. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the amounts paid by the Legal Aid Board to personal insolvency practitioners, solicitors and barristers under the Personal Insolvency Arrangement Review Legal Aid Service since its inception to date in 2021; the details of these payments; the companies and persons that received same; the amount received by each company and person; the amounts that have been incurred but are unpaid by the Legal Aid Board to personal insolvency practitioners, solicitors and barristers under the PIA Review Legal Aid Service since its inception to date in 2021; the details of these liabilities; the companies and persons to which they are owed and or outstanding and which are subject to objection and or challenge; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31462/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Legal Aid Board is the statutory, independent body responsible for the provision of civil legal aid and advice to persons of modest means, in accordance with the relevant criteria and provisions of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995.

This includes the Board’s provision of key supports under the Abhaile Scheme as the National Mortgage Arrears Resolution Service. The Programme for Government commits to continuing to fund Abhaile, and to introducing the necessary reforms to our personal insolvency legislation to ensure that sufficient supports are in place for mortgage holders with repayment difficulties. This also reflects the Government’s ongoing prioritisation of more vulnerable citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic and for the period of national recovery which will follow.

An important component of Abhaile relates to the provision of legal aid for proceedings under section 115A of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 (as amended). This legislation provides for a process where a proposal for personal insolvency arrangement can be implemented by a court even if rejected by creditors at a creditors meeting.

The legal aid available includes the services of a solicitor from the Legal Aid Board’s Abhaile Solicitors Panel and payment to the personal insolvency practitioner with respect to the expenses they incur in making the section 115A application. Prior to 1 March 2019 the services of Junior Counsel were funded in all section 115A applications. Since that date the services of Counsel may be sought on a case by case basis as is the case in other civil legal aid matters.

These panels and supports are administered independently by the Legal Aid Board under the relevant legislative and regulatory provisions. They are also subject to statutory audit and certification by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General and subject to the relevant internal audit and corporate governance procedures. The following information has been provided in the form of three Schedules by the Legal Aid Board.

Schedule A sets out the amounts spent by the Legal Aid Board on solicitors, barristers and personal insolvency practitioners for applications under the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 in each of the years 2016 to 2020 and to 31 May 2021.

Schedule B sets out the amount paid to by the Legal Aid Board to each individual solicitor, barrister and personal insolvency practitioner for applications under the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 in each of the years 2016 to 2020 and to 31 May 2021.

Schedule C sets out the total amounts incurred but not yet paid by the Legal Aid Board in connection with solicitors, barristers and personal insolvency practitioners for applications under the Personal Insolvency Act 2012 as at 11 June 2021.

I have had enquiries made with the Legal Aid Board and am informed that the Legal Aid Board is not in a position to provide information as to individual amounts accrued into the future for individual service providers. This is because the legal aid recipients concerned engage their own solicitor from the panel on foot of a legal aid certificate and it is for that solicitor (if authorised to do so) to instruct counsel. The Legal Aid Board does not therefore become aware of which solicitor and barrister has been so engaged until the relevant claim is later submitted to it for that purpose.