Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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455. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the steps he will take to ensure that the Legal Aid Board is properly funded and resourced, so as to be able to hire temporary replacement staff in cases where existing staff are on maternity leave. [28470/25]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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465. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the level of funding provided to legal aid services in Waterford in each year 2015-2025, both the overall level and for each service; the extent of funding provided, if any, for maternity leave cover; if funding is provided for maternity leave cover or if services are left without cover for the duration of maternity leave, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28750/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 455 and 465 together.

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 (“the 1995 Act”) and the Civil Legal Aid Regulations 1996 to 2021. Section 3(3) of the 1995 Act states that the Board shall, subject to the provisions of the Act, be independent in the exercise of its functions.

To be of assistance to the Deputies, I have made enquiries with the Legal Aid Board who have advised that the Board does not allocate annual funding by region or county, and therefore would not be able to provide funding data for a specific county. Funding is provided annually to the Legal Aid Board and, given its statutory independence, it is a matter for the Legal Aid Board and its management team to allocate their allotted funding as they deem appropriate. Hence, the allocation of funding by the Board to legal aid services in Waterford, or indeed staffing arrangements and resource allocation more generally, are operational matters for the Board, in accordance with the provisions of the 1995 Act. I, as Minister, have no role in relation to these matters.

Should the Deputies wish to contact the Board in relation to these matters, the Legal Aid Board can be contacted directly at oireachtas_enq@legalaidboard.ie.

The funding allocated by my Department to the Legal Aid Board for 2015 – 2025 is set out in the following table: