Demand for legal aid services increased last year as waiting times continued to fall, according to the Legal Aid Board. Paul Cullen, Consumer Affairs Correspondent, reports
The maximum waiting times last year was four months, and most of the board's 30 law centres dealt with cases quicker than this, it said.
The number of people seeking legal aid grew by 8 per cent last year, largely because of the reduced waiting times and improvements in the means test limits introduced last year.
Some 9,000 people sought legal aid last year, compared to 8,300 in 2005. As in previous years, most cases were in family law.
Just under 1,000 were on the waiting list at the end of 2006, the same number as the previous year. In December 2004, 2,200 people were on the waiting list.
"The additional resources provided to the board by the Government have enabled us to provide a professional and timely service to persons who rely on the State to obtain legal advice and representation in court," said board chief executive Moling Ryan.
Separately, the Refugee Legal Service assisted 3,000 new asylum seekers last year.
This represented 70 per cent of all asylum seekers which is a small decreased over the previous year. The decrease is attributed to greater involvement by solicitors in private practice in the area.