I propose to take Questions Nos. 664, 665, 666, 691, 692 and 693 together.
The Legal Aid Board is the statutory, independent body responsible for the provision of civil legal aid and advice to qualifying individuals. Funding is provided annually to the Legal Aid Board by my Department 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. Officials from my Department are, however, in regular contact with the management team in the Legal Aid Board, including on the question of resourcing. In this regard, I can advise that funding to the Board has increased in recent years, from €53 million in 2023, to €59 million in 2024, €64 million in 2025, and to €73 million in 2026.
Whilst the Legal Aid Board is an independent agency, my Department does of course have a governance oversight role for the organisation more generally and retains responsibility for the formulation of policy and legislation in respect of the civil legal aid scheme. There are several oversight measures in place to ensure the appropriate operation of the system and the Legal Aid Board strictly operates in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 together with the Civil Legal Aid Regulations 1996-2021.
The Oversight Agreement between the Department and the Legal Aid Board defines the governance and accountability framework between the two organisations. Its purpose is to clarify roles, responsibilities, reporting arrangements, and assurance mechanisms, ensuring effective oversight, transparency, and compliance with public sector governance requirements, without encroaching on the Board’s operational or decision making independence. This agreement is published on my Department’s website.
The Annual Performance Delivery Agreement between the Legal Aid Board and my Department sets out the specific objectives, outputs, priorities, and performance indicators to be delivered by the Legal Aid Board in a given year, within its approved funding. It provides a structured basis for monitoring delivery, accountability for public expenditure, and alignment with Government and Departmental priorities, while respecting the Board’s statutory independence. Such Performance Delivery Agreements are also published on my Department’s website. The Performance Delivery Agreement for 2026 for the Legal Aid Board is not yet finalised and will be published as soon as it has been agreed.
Having a Civil Legal Aid Scheme and a Legal Aid Board which is equipped to meet the changing needs of society is critical to ensuring access to justice, particularly for those who have very modest means. Civil legal aid and advice is provided primarily through a network of law centres by solicitors employed by the Board. There are 34 full time law centres and dedicated units together with 2 part-time law centres. Specific law centres in Dublin, Cork and Galway include an international protection speciality and there are also dedicated units in Dublin dealing with personal injury and/or medical negligence cases and cases involving children at risk.
The Board also engages private solicitors to supplement the services provided by Board solicitors in certain areas of law on a case-by-case basis those areas of law being; District Court family law matters, Circuit Court judicial separation and divorce cases, international protection cases, and cases on foot of the Abhaile scheme.
The Civil Legal Aid Scheme has two parts: a legal advice element and a legal representation element. Eligibility for the scheme is determined by reference to a financial assessment and the merits of the case being taken. The Scheme covers a wide range of civil legal issues, subject to some exclusions such as defamation and most property disputes.
In June 2022, a Civil Legal Aid Review Group under the chairmanship of former Chief Justice Frank Clarke, SC, was established to review the current operation of the Civil Legal Aid Scheme. The outputs of the review were published in July 2025 and contained recommendations relating to eligibility for the Scheme such as the income threshold, allowances and other aspects of the Scheme.
The Review also made recommendations extending the scheme to legal issues which are currently heard before tribunals. Any changes must be considered in the round and the potential implications that such changes might have on the operation of the Scheme as well as forms of legal support available through other fora, such as administrative tribunals and other services.
The recommendations from the Review will also have to be considered with due regard to the findings from Ireland’s first legal needs survey, recently completed with the support of the European Commission and the OECD. This survey will provide invaluable insights into the extent of legal need in Ireland. While preliminary results of the survey have been released on gov.ie, further analysis will be required before the full results are published.
I have asked my officials to examine the recommendations and engage as necessary with stakeholders as part of that process. I will revert to Government in due course with proposals to reform the Scheme.
The Legal Aid Board provides a very important service to those who need its support in matters of civil dispute and in more general matters of civil law and operational practice. Given its wide remit and national reach, both I, as Minister, and my Department, will continue to work closely with the Legal Aid Board to ensure it has the resources necessary to meet its most immediate needs and the additional demands it will face going forward.
