156 / 482
GAZETTE
APRIL 1989
Type of
Case
District
Court
Circuit
Court
High
Court
Supreme
Court
Total
Family Law
873 (854)* 289 (349)
66 (65)
3 (3)
1,231 (1,271)
Other
29 (10)
35 (31)
20 (18)
2 (1)
86
(60)
1,317 (1,331)
7Previous year's figures in brackets).
Law Centres are in constant
contact with private practitioners.
The more the private profession
understands the strengths and
limitations of the service, the more
effectively it is likely to operate.
One hopes that this article will have
contributed to this understanding.
It is worth making the point, also,
that in periods which see services
temporarily restricted, arrange-
ments are made whereby whjt are
described as "emergency" cases
continue to be taken on. The latter
include, for example, cases of
severe matrimonial violence or
abuse of children, or cases where
there is a threat to remove a child
from the jurisdiction - assuming,
in all cases, that the services of a
solicitor are actually necessary. The
Centres also continue to handle
existing clients during these
periods - temporary restrictions,
in other words, apply to new
clients.
Referral of Case by Private
Practitioners.
With regard to the referral of cases
to the Legal Aid service by prac-
itioners, it would be of great benefit
if the following arrangements were
applied:-
(a ) Practitioners should try to avoid
referring cases at the last
minute, e.g. where proceedings
are already set to take place
within a few weeks (some-
times within days) of the
referral.
(b) The Law Centre should be
contacted, in the first instance,
by 'phone, to find out whether
they can take on the case (for
example, is it the type of case
that is covered by the
Scheme?) and how soon they
can give the applicant an
appointment.
( c ) A properly organised file,
ideally with a brief summary of
the facts, should be forwarded
to the centre. The solicitor
referring the case - especially
if it is a complicated case
which has been with his firm
for some time - should make
himself available to the Law
Centre solicitor to discuss
points of difficulty.
Obviously the above is in the
nature of a "wish list"; it will not
be possibly, in all cases, to meet all
of these desiderata. The Board,
naturally, is conscious that when
the "traffic" if flowing the other
way (i.e. when Law Centre clients
are referred to private practitoners),
it is equally important that properly
organised files etc. be presented to
the firm concerned.
Concluding Comments
The legal aid service is part of the
justice system. Its primary aim is to
provide persons of limited means
with effective access to justice.
Because of the severe budgetary
situation experienced in recent
years, the service is not by any
means as extensive as would be
warranted by reference to the size
of the problem it attempts to
address.
This article will have demon-
trated that there are complexities
associated with the provision of a
civil legal aid service, most of them
having to do with the maintenance
of proper controls. The same is true
of corresponding services in other
jurisdictions - the Legal Aid
Schemes in neighbouring juris-
dictions are, in many ways, more
complex in their operation than
ours.
It goes without saying that
complexity is never a virtue. No
doubt, one of the aims of any
review which will take place in the
context of introducing a Statutory
measure will be to simplify the
Scheme. The degree to which
simplicity can be achieved, how-
ever, is limited. One of the main
reasons for this is that civil legal aid
is not just a matter of providing
persons of limited means with
access to justice - though, this is
its principal aim - it also means
that a very powerful weapon is put
in the hands of individuals, who
happen to qualify, whereby they
can, with the backing of State
resources, take others, who do not
qualify, literally to any Court in the
land. The potential for abuse, in
that situation, is clear and the need
for effective control mechanisms is
equally clear.
In their day-to-day operations,
Relevant Addresses etc.
Law Centres:
45 Lower Gardiner Street,
Dublin 1. (01-787295)
Aston House, Aston Place,
Dublin 2. (01-712177)
9, Lower Ormond Quay, Dublin
1. (01-724133)
517 Main Street, Tallaght,
Dublin 24. (01-511519)
24 North Mall, Cork.
(021-300365)
96 South Mall, Cork.
(021-275998)
5 Mary Street, Galway.
(091-61650)
Lower Mallow Street, Limerick.
(061-314599)
5 Catherine Street, Waterford.
(051-55814)
1 Teeling Street, Sligo.
(071-61670)
6 High Street, Tralee, Co. Kerry.
(066-26900)
Northgate Street, Athlone, Co.
Westmeath. (0902-74694)
Head Office
47 Upper Mount Street, Dublin
2. (01-615811)
Association of Criminal Lawyers
The Association of Criminal Law-
yers is in the process of preparing a
comprehensive report on the short-
comings in the present system of
legal aid payments and proposals
will be submitted to the Law Society
and the Department of Justice. Any
members of the Association who
wish to make submissions are
invited to do so in writing within the
next three weeks to Padraig Ferry,
Solicitor, 4 Chancery Place, Dublin
7. Please note that all membership
subscriptions for 1989 are now due.
A cheque for £15 can be sent to
Elizabeth Ferris, Solicitor, Arran
Chambers, 6 Arran Quay, Dublin 7.
142