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including increases to financial eligibility thresholds. A 67% increase in funding to the free legal advice centres and €74.6 million for the Legal Aid Board has also been secured in budget 2027. Overall, this represents an investment of over €90 million in access to justice initiatives, the highest … legal aid. This will build on the growth in the provision of civil legal aid services over recent years. In 2025, the Legal Aid Board managed 25,869 applications for civil legal aid. In 2015, the equivalent figure was 16,793. Both the civil legal aid review

February 2026. At that meeting, we were delighted to welcome representatives from Women's Aid, the Law Society of Ireland, the Legal Aid Board, the Free Legal Advice Centres and the Bar of Ireland. They each presented evidence to the committee and outlined the areas of reform they … important issues to the committee's attention. One of the most significant issues raised was the level of resourcing available to the Legal Aid Board. The committee was told the civil legal aid scheme is experiencing growing demand while, at the same time, facing difficulties in recruiting

they need. I recognise that considerable work is now required to prepare for implementation and my Department will work closely with the Legal Aid Board and other stakeholders to ensure that these important reforms are delivered effectively, sustainably and at the very earliest opportunity. As mediation continues … area. I sincerely thank the Legal Aid Board for its dedicated work in administering the scheme. The board has been operating in an increasingly challenging and complex environment in recent years. I fully recognise and support the need for civil legal aid reform and am confident the additional

forget how much good value the State gets from these schemes. I absolutely agree with the statement in the report that the Legal Aid Board needs to be properly resourced to do the job, which comes back to the points I made earlier. There is an efficiency issue … with the Legal Aid Board in terms of the time it takes to get the recommendation and the time it takes to actually get paid. When I was vice-chair of the justice committee in the last session, there was a proposal that criminal legal aid would

than the estimated cost of implementing even that limited reform, and that is before we address the enormous existing pressures on the Legal Aid Board. We have waiting times of 70 weeks in Navan, 61 weeks in Castlebar and 38 weeks in Ballymun. Imagine being told that … legal proceedings. We cannot continue to treat the delays as normal or inevitable, and we cannot expand eligibility without giving the Legal Aid Board the resources to represent the additional people who become eligible. I want to know what the €14.5 million will deliver, what reforms are being

does not merit serious consideration and thought. I hope the Minister examines each one individually, takes it on board and then brings those recommendations forward. The criminal legal aid system was actually working. It needed tweaks, as the Minister himself said. It most certainly needs reform. The civil … waiting anywhere between six months and over a year. That is not acceptable. There is a tsunami of requests going into the Legal Aid Board. If we are raising the threshold, we have to ensure beforehand that it is already resourced and that waiting times are reduced

work is necessary. We have heard this across the board, coming in from all sides of the aisle, for want of a better term. The fact is that we have huge issues in the civil legal aid system and that the matter is urgent, but we have … providing services. The latter difficulties relate to payment. Everybody has stated explicitly, and it is in the report, that the Legal Aid Board needs to be properly funded and resourced. We are aware that there is a need for mediation services and any means available to deal with

have secured a 67% increase in funding to the free legal advice centres and €74.6 million has been secured for the Legal Aid Board. Overall, this represents an investment of over €90 million in access to justice initiatives, the highest investment in the history of the State

ensure access to justice is available to all, regardless of income or circumstance. The evidence presented to the committee by FLAC, the Legal Aid Board, the Law Society, the Bar of Ireland, Women's Aid and others was compelling. The conclusions of the report are clear. The committee … positions. To get out of those circumstances, they need to access civil legal aid. Currently, that is being denied to far too many of them. I hope the Minister of State will take that on board and address it, as I hope the Minister will also. I thank

addressed. The report has 30 recommendations, such is the scale of the reform needed. Adequate and immediate funding for the Legal Aid Board is the first step in ensuring it can fulfil its statutory functions, as set out in legislation. Funding is an issue, and the committee

nearly 20 years ago to early on when the Personal Injuries Assessment Board was established, where did the attack come from to undermine that, which continues to this very day? It came from the legal profession. I do not say that with any joy, but that … reform to deal with personal injuries. From looking at the Department of justice’s review of the old system of criminal legal aid, which necessitated the reforms the Minister introduced, it appears to me that it raised serious issues. The review highlighted, for example, more appearances and longer

justice for people who really need it in sometimes very vulnerable situations. We are talking about cases that qualify for civil legal aid like family law cases, particularly domestic violence cases and domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. These are cases where people are often at the lowest … problem with it. There is a suggestion later in the report that there will be a differentiation between general recipients of civil legal aid and those in domestic violence situations. I do not have a problem with that and I will come back

Affairs and Migration whether his commitment to implement “key civil legal aid reforms” will include the expansion of the functions of the Legal Aid Board; whether its functions will be expanded to include the provision of legal information, public legal education and raising awareness of legal rights