Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

351. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to provide an update in relation to the civil legal aid review, in particular when she anticipates the report being available. [39722/24]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In its over forty years of operation, the Civil Legal Aid Scheme has been a significant and beneficial public service, providing legal aid and advice to people of limited means in civil disputes, including family law.

However, since the Scheme was set up, Irish society has changed, and the demands on the service have grown. In June 2022, the Minister established the Civil Legal Aid Review Group to review the current operation of the Civil Legal Aid Scheme and make recommendations for its future.

The Review Group is chaired by a former Chief Justice. The membership of the group is drawn from legal practitioners, academics, Department officials, those who work with marginalised groups, and representatives from the Legal Aid Board, which administers the statutory scheme.

The Group is considering many aspects of the scheme, in line with its terms of reference such as the appropriateness of the current eligibility thresholds, the scope of the scheme and whether it should remain primarily a family law service.

Progress is ongoing and the Civil Legal Aid Review Group is expected to conclude its work in the near future, at which point I look forward to considering its recommendations.