THE introduction of divorce in 1997 will call for additional resources to be made available to the Legal Aid Board. In its annual report for 1995, published yesterday, the board said it was in discussions with the Department of Equality and Law Reform about the implications for its funding in dealing with the likely demand for divorce.
The grant in aid to the board has increased from £2.6 million in 1992 to £6.2 million in 1995, the report shows. The number of law centres has expanded from 16 to 26 and the number of solicitors employed has increased from 39 to 75. Overall staff numbers reached 202 at the end of 1995.
The number of people who received legal services more than doubled between 1992 and 1995 the report says. The expansion of the board's services since 1,993 has resulted in the waiting times for appointments with solicitors. The board is currently recruiting additional solicitors.
However, the report warns that some additional resources will be required to sustain the improvement in the board's capacity to meet its obligation to consider applications for legal aid within a reasonable time. "Recent and imminent legislation, particularly in the family law area, will add substantially to the board's workload and will inevitably impact on its ability to further reduce waiting times," the report says.
Plans are at an advanced stage for the opening on a phased bases of four new law centres in Cavan, Navan, Newbridge and Tullamore.
The chairman of the board, Ms Clare Connellan, said yesterday the board and management were engaged on a strategic review of the work of the organisation.
The board is to be established next Friday as a statutory body in its own right.