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Press Release
Legal Aid Board reports significant increase in demand for legal services
The Legal Aid Board today (6 October) published its 2010 Annual Report and Accounts. The Board provides civil legal aid and advice to those who cannot afford to retain a solicitor through its nationwide network of law centres. It also offers legal services for those seeking asylum through its Refugee Legal Service.
The report shows that the Legal Aid Board received 17,175 applications for civil legal aid and advice in 2010, up 21% on the previous year. In the four years since 2006 the number of applications increased by more than 70% and the upward trajectory of demand has continued into 2011. In 2010 alone there was an increase in applications to Law Centres alone of almost 22%. In total, the Board’s law centres processed 16,632 cases in 2010, up 3% on 2009, while 5,279 cases were referred out to private practitioners.
The Board sees this sustained increase in demand as being driven by two main factors. Firstly, and most significantly, the economic downturn has meant that a greater number of persons are now satisfying the means test which allows them to avail of the legal services provided by the Board. Secondly, evidence points to a greater need for legal services during times of economic distress, particularly in areas such as family law, debt and employment.
The only area of the Board’s operations that did not see an increase in applications last year was the Refugee Legal Service, which provides legal services to asylum seekers, where there was a drop of almost 37% in new clients in 2010 to 1,448. This was consistent with the falling number of asylum applications in the state in recent years.
Commenting on the report, the Chairperson of the Legal Aid Board, Ms Anne Colley, noted that the main feature of the Board’s operating environment over the last few years has been a significant increase in demand for services across the law centre network. This increase in demand is largely driven by the adverse impact of the current economic climate on incomes and employment resulting in greater numbers now eligible for Board services. Also, and in common with other public service organisations, the Board faces an ongoing challenge of ‘doing more with less’ for the foreseeable future. The Board has responded to this in a proactive manner by restructuring services and introducing innovative ways of delivering service. These include the integration of the Refugee Legal Services with law centres in Dublin, Cork and Galway and the introduction of an ‘advice-only’ service in law centres with the aim of ensuring that clients, who may otherwise face considerable delays, get an initial appointment with a solicitor within four months. During 2010 the Board marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of state-funded civil legal aid by hosting an anniversary conference.
The Board’s Chief Executive, Dr. Moling Ryan also acknowledged that the increase in demand experienced has put considerable pressure on the Board’s capacity to deliver a timely service at some of its law centres. However, he also said that “the Board operates a ‘mixed’ delivery system in that it utilises the services of private sector solicitors and barristers to complement the service provided by its own solicitors with a view to providing a timely and effective service”. Although waiting times for a full appointment with a solicitor have increased beyond the target time of four months in more than half of Board law centres, matters considered to be priority cases get immediate or near immediate service. These include cases of domestic violence, child abduction, applications by the State to take children into care and cases where statutory time limits are close to expiry. Dr. Ryan referred to a number of initiatives during 2010 introduced to better manage services including the advice-only service, the provision of specialist services for medical negligence and childcare matters and the groundwork for development of an integrated IT based case management system.
Both Ms. Colley and Dr. Ryan highlighted the progress made towards the development of an integrated mediation service on a pilot basis in Dublin. This is a cooperative venture between the Board, the Courts Service and the Family Mediation Service and the objective is to redirect appropriate cases away from a Court environment. They welcomed the Government decision to transfer the functions of the Family Mediation Service to the Board and noted the synergies between the two organisations and the potential benefits associated with the transfer.
The decision of government to transfer the management and administration of criminal legal aid to the Board in the near future is also welcomed as a vote of confidence from the Government in the work of the organisation.
Highlights from the Legal Aid Board’s 2010 Annual Report and Accounts
The Board’s law centre network for general civil matters dealt with a 21% increase in applications in 2010. This followed an 18% increase in 2009 on the 2008 figure. The level of demand in 2010 was approximately 74% greater in 2010 than it was in 2007.
The number of new clients registering with the Board’s Refugee Legal Service fell by 37%, in line with the reduction in recent years of the number of persons seeking asylum in this country.Exchequer funding for the civil legal aid service fell by 8% to €24.22 million. For the Refugee Legal Service, the Exchequer funding provision fell by 4.3% to €7.96 million. Overall, staffing levels fell by 7% over the course of the year, from 386 wholetime equivalents at the end of 2009 to 359 at the end of 2010.
The number of cases processed during the year by the law centre network increased by 3% to over 16,600. The number of child care cases increased by 12%.
Waiting times for an appointment with a solicitor came under increasing pressure in 2010 due to increased demand and the constraints on the Board’s resources. At year end the waiting time in 13 of the Board’s Law Centres was less than four months while it was greater than 4 months in 16 of the Centres. However, the Board continued to provide an immediate or near immediate service to about 15% of its (non asylum-related) clients on account of the nature of the problems experienced by those clients.
The Board continued to make use of private practitioners to help reduce the numbers of clients waiting for legal services. Many clients who were referred to private practitioners did not experience a waiting period in order to receive services. In addition, the Board provided an ‘advice only’ service, with the objective of providing clients with a preliminary appointment within four months if it was not possible to offer a substantive service within that period.
The Board worked closely with the Courts Service and the Family Mediation Service with a view to piloting an onsite mediation initiative in the building housing the District Family Court in Dublin. At year end it was anticipated that the initiative would be operative in early 2011 and would focus on disputes between parents in relation to the welfare of children.
The Board hosted a conference in the Law Society of Ireland’s premises in Blackhall Place, Dublin in September to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the organisation. The theme of the Conference was ‘Access to Justice and Legal Aid: Learning from the Past, Looking to the future.’ The conference was addressed by a number of high profile speakers on various aspects of civil law in Ireland and abroad.
ENDS
For further information, contact:
Dr Moling Ryan, Chief Executive 087 6474980
Ms Eileen Bowden, Director of Corporate Services 087 6287432
Mr Frank Caffrey, Head of Private Practitioner and Specialist Legal Services, 087-3295811
Ms Fiona Morley, Manager, Research & Information Unit, 087 9677279
www.legalaidboard.ie
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