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January 2007

Demand for civil legal aid increased in 2006

The Legal Aid Board today announced that preliminary figures for demand for legal services from its 30 law centres throughout the country increased by over 8% in 2006 as compared with 2005. The Board attributed the increase to the improved ease of access to civil legal aid as a result of recent significant reductions in waiting times and to an increase in the means test limits that took place in September 2006.

In 2006, some 9,000 persons sought legal aid services from the Board, as compared with 8,300 in 2005. As in previous years, the majority of cases were in the area of family law. At the same time the number of persons waiting for legal services was just under 1,000 at the end of December 2006. This is the same as at December 2005 and compares with 2,200 in December 2004.

While the numbers seeking a service from the Board has increased, the Board continues to provide a timely service to all applicants. Approximately 25% of persons applying for legal services are given a priority service and do not have to go on a waiting list. All other applicants are provided with legal services within a maximum period of four months. A high level objective for the Board is to ensure that legal services are provided to all persons within a maximum period of four months. This objective was attained originally in 2005 and continued to be achieved in 2006.

The waiting times in the Board’s law centres were as follows:-
Number of Law Centres

Number of months	31 December 2005	31December 2006
0-1	6	14
1-2	9	11
2-3	15	4
3-4	0	1

See also attached list for details of demand and waiting times for each of the 30 law centres around the country.

Commenting on the preliminary figures, Mr Moling Ryan, Chief Executive, said “the additional resources provided to the Board by the Government have enabled the Board to provide a professional and timely service to persons who rely on the State to obtain legal advice and representation in court. This is a major factor in providing access to justice for the less well off in society At the end of the year, persons seeking services in 25 of the Board’s 30 law centres were waiting for 2 months or less.”

Preliminary figures for the Refugee Legal Service (RLS) indicate that it provided services to some 3,000 new asylum seekers in 2006, representing approximately 70% of the number of persons that applied for asylum in Ireland in 2006. This is a slight decrease as compared with 2005 and arises from a greater involvement by solicitors in private practice in this area of law.

“The RLS provides an immediate, independent and professional service to asylum seekers at all stages of the asylum process, including taking judicial review proceedings,” said Mr Ryan. “The expertise of the staff in the RLS in this area of law is widely regarded and acknowledged both nationally and internationally.”

The Refugee Documentation Centre (RDC) continued to provide a research and library service on country of origin information for all agencies involved in the asylum process. A major development in 2006 was the expansion of the service to deal with the work arising from the Supreme Court decision that the Refugee Appeal Tribunal had to publish its previous decisions. The RDC took on responsibility for researching relevant decisions on behalf of the RLS, solicitors in private practice providing legal aid on behalf of the Board, and State agencies working in the asylum area. It is planned to extend this service early in 2007 to solicitors in private practice with fee paying clients.


For further information please contact Moling Ryan on 087 647 4980 or Frank Brady, Director of Legal Aid, on 087 244 9702


Maximum current waiting time by law centre as at 31/12/06 in months. (2005 figures in brackets for comparison.)

Dublin
Blanchardstown 2 (2)
Brunswick Street 1 (3)
Clondalkin 3 (3)
Finglas 2 (1)
Gardiner Street 2 (1)
Ormond Quay 1 (2)
Tallaght 2 (3)
Cork
Popes Quay 2 (2)
South Mall 1 (3)
Athlone 1 (2)
Castlebar 1 (1)
Cavan 0 (2)
Dundalk 0 (2)
Ennis 1 (2)
Galway 2 (3)
Kilkenny 1 (3)
Letterkenny 3 (3)
Limerick 1 (1)
Longford 0 (0)
Monaghan 0 (3)
Navan 3 (3)
Nenagh 2 (3)
Newbridge 2 (3)
Portlaoise 3 (3)
Sligo 1 (2)
Tralee 3 (3)
Tullamore 2 (3)
Waterford 2 (2)
Wexford 2 (3)
Wicklow 1 (1)