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Annual Report 2007 - Introduction from the CEO
I am very pleased to introduce the Annual Report on the activities and performance of the Legal Aid Board in 2007. The year was a busy and demanding one reflecting increased demand for our legal services, and one which saw further development and change both in the environment in which we operate and in the manner in which we deliver our services.
In 2007, the Legal Aid Board provided legal services to approximately 18,000 individuals, up by some 500 on 2006. Overall, there was increased demand for legal services across our law centre network, though with the lower numbers seeking asylum in this jurisdiction there was a drop in numbers receiving assistance from the Refugee Legal Service.
The Board’s main mechanism for providing civil legal aid services to the public is its nationwide network of law centres. In 2007, the number of legal aid and advice cases handled by the law centres increased to 13,905. One of the reasons for this increase was undoubtedly the improvement in the financial eligibility limits and related allowances sanctioned by the Ministers for Finance and Justice, Equality and Law Reform in September 2006.
There remains the concern, however, that a considerable number of people who may have a need for our services and are eligible may not access them due to reasons such as an absence of information. In view of this, the Board developed a new External Communications Strategy in 2007, which aims, inter alia, to improve the level and quality of the Board’s communication with the public.
How quickly and accurately we deal with applications for legal services is of significant importance to applicants. In 2007, the Board ensured that, in the vast majority of cases, applicants had a maximum waiting time of no more than four months for an initial appointment with a solicitor. In addition, the Board continued to provide a priority service in cases such as domestic violence, child abduction and child care where applicants need an immediate service. Some 16% of applicants in law centres received a priority service in 2007. Increasing demand for our services will inevitably create pressure on our capacity to maintain this level of service within existing resources.
The Board has been particularly conscious in recent years of the nature of the cases, particularly in the area of family law, being dealt with by our solicitor staff. We are aware of the potential impact of such cases proceeding to determination in the adversarial environment of the courts, though recognising that courts have a meaningful role in many cases. Inevitably, family law cases which proceed in a traditional way through the courts have the potential to further inflame differences and have long-term impacts not just on the parties involved but also on children and the wider families and, ultimately, on society. The Board has been very much to the forefront, in association with the Law Society and other bodies, in encouraging and facilitating an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) approach to family cases. One of these approaches is through the use of Collaborative Law and our training programme for our own solicitors and a great number in private practice continued apace in 2007.
On the asylum side, 2,650 new clients registered with the Refugee Legal Service (RLS). This was down from 2,980 a year previously and the decrease is indicative of the continued fall-off in the number of asylum seekers coming to this country. A review of the RLS which was carried out in 2007 will help to ensure that it continues to carry out its functions effectively and efficiently as the asylum situation evolves.
We are conscious in the Board that it is important not just to have an efficient handling of cases within our offices. It is at least equally important to ensure that the quality of the service offered is of an appropriately professional standard and that we are in a position to verify that across the organisation. An important development in this respect was the introduction of agreed file review systems in 2007, for both in-house solicitors and private solicitors engaged by the Board.
Last year also saw the first full year of operation of the specialist Medical Negligence Unit, which was originally set up in 2006 to deal in the most professional way possible with a particularly difficult area of law.
The Board and its staff are fully committed to delivering on what is a hugely important social and professional mandate whilst consistently seeking better ways of doing so. It is against this backdrop that I would like to express my sincere appreciation of the excellent work and wonderful commitment of the staff in the Board and trust that we can rely on this continuing in 2008 and beyond. I would also like to join the Chairperson in thanking the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, his Secretary General and the staff of the Department for their interest in and support of the Board during 2007.
Moling Ryan
Chief Executive
June 2008
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