Lenihan to urge more family mediation

Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan has said he is examining ways of encouraging greater use of mediation services by people involved in family law disputes.

Far too many family law disputes are going to a full court hearing, which can be very confrontational and expensive, Mr Lenihan said.

"We have to examine whether there could be some procedure short of the courts that could be used to resolve differences. A full court hearing in a family law case is a bit like a tribunal of inquiry for a politician."

The Minister was speaking to journalists at the launch of the annual report of the Legal Aid Board, which showed that the number of people using the service continues to increase. The vast majority of cases handled by the board are in the family law area.

Last year, from a total caseload of 9,400 cases, the board dealt with more than 5,700 divorce, separation and nullity cases, as well as more than 600 childcare cases and 2,300 other family law cases.

This is in spite of the board's efforts to promote alternative forms of dispute resolution; last year, for instance, it provided training in collaborative law to more than 100 solicitors.

Mr Lenihan welcomed the continuing fall in waiting times for accessing the board's services at most of its centres. The maximum waiting times in any of the 45 centres is now three months.

The board provides civil legal aid to people with incomes of less than €18,000, who are required to make a contribution of €50 for legal aid and €10 for legal advice. It is separate from the criminal legal aid scheme.

The annual report shows that spending on legal fees and expenses increased by one-third last year, to €12.3 million, while the number of cases dealt with grew by just 7.5 per cent.

The rise is attributed to an increase in the level of payments to barristers and revised accounting procedures.

A further 3,700 people contacted the board for legal advice only, and again a majority of these related to family law issues.

The only area showing a fall in demand is refugee law, where the number of asylum-seekers contacting the Refugee Law Service operated by the board last year was 3,000, down 10 per cent. This mirrors a fall in the number of asylum applications in the State.

While eligibility limits for legal aid were increased last year the board's chairwoman, Anne Colley, said they should be adjusted on an ongoing basis to avoid hardship for people seeking assistance.

Although the board's head office is in Caherciveen, Co Kerry, it still operates from a number of offices in Dublin as well as its network of regional law centres.