Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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221. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to reform the legal aid scheme. [5144/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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At the outset, it is important to clarify that criminal legal aid and civil legal aid are separate services.

As outlined in the Programme for Government 2025, the Government has committed to reforming the operation of Criminal Legal Aid. The general scheme of the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Bill 2023 was published in July 2023. This Bill will modernise the operation of the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme and is intended to-

• update the law relating to Criminal Legal Aid,
• transfer administrative responsibility of the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme from the Department of Justice to the Legal Aid Board, and
• strengthen oversight and governance structures for the Scheme.

Civil legal aid and advice is provided for qualifying individuals in civil matters which are those that concern non-criminal disputes between individuals or organisations. Civil legal aid and advice is granted through the Civil Legal Aid Scheme, which is administered by the Legal Aid Board.

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 independent Civil Legal Aid Review Group was established 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.

As part of the review, a comprehensive multi-phased process of consultation was conducted to ensure that as wide a range of views as possible on these issues is captured. The Group has considered the findings from this extensive consultation and the research processes it has undertaken, in the overall context of its terms of reference, the existing legal support landscape in Ireland and how best to meet the civil legal needs of individuals now and in the future.

The Group is currently finalising its report and it is expected shortly, at which point I look forward to considering its recommendations.