Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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260. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the current budget for the Family Law Legal Aid Panel. [17248/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, 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 provisions of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 and the Civil Legal Aid Regulations 1996 to 2021.

The Board engages private solicitors to supplement the services provided by Board solicitors in certain areas of law on a case-by-case basis. These areas include District Court family law matters, Circuit Court judicial separation and divorce cases, international protection cases, and cases on foot of the Abhaile scheme. A priority service is provided by the Board in certain cases, including cases involving domestic violence, child abduction, applications by the State to take children into care or under supervision, and cases that have statutory time limits close to expiry.

I have been informed by the Board that the Family Law Legal Aid panels currently in place are as follows:

District Court Private Family Law: This panel covers matters in the District Court and on appeal to the Circuit Court under the Domestic Violence Act 2018, the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 and the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act 1976. The budget for 2024 is €2,500,000.

Judicial Separation and Divorce: This panel covers judicial separation and divorce proceedings in the Circuit Court. A limited number of referrals are made to this panel each year. The budget for 2024 is €500,000.

Child Care: This panel covers representation of parents of children who are the subject of applications by the Child and Family Agency (Tusla) to be taken into the care or under the supervision of the Agency. The number of referrals to this panel is strictly limited. The budget for 2024 is €1,300,000.