4. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration when he will review the disposable income threshold of €18,000 for accessing civil legal aid, which has not been updated since 2006; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54227/25]

Sentiment score: 0.20

The disposable income threshold for civil legal aid is only €18,000. Incredibly, it has not been updated since 2006. Think of all the cost-of-living crises and everything else we have been through since then. How much additional funding is provided for civil legal aid in the budget? Will it allow for the raising of the threshold very significantly and for abolishing it entirely in cases where domestic violence is a factor?

Sentiment score: -0.05

I agree this is a question of access to justice. Some people are being denied justice because they are just over the threshold and therefore cannot afford it. A woman has come to me whose daughter is dealing with an abusive ex-partner and is fighting for full custody. She is €50 per week over the current threshold and has therefore had to spend €45,000 on a custody case, which is horrendous. I note the Minister mentioned the figure of €23,500, which obviously comes from the majority report reviewing the whole scheme. I point out to the Minister and ask him to consider the fact that there is a minority report that argues that figure is still not high enough and will continue to exclude people who require the civil legal aid scheme. I have not done the figures, but I presume if we were just to adjust the figure of €18,000 for inflation from 2006 we would end up with more than €23,500.

Sentiment score: -0.14

To tease that out a little further, does the Minister agree that a different threshold or abolishing the threshold entirely would be appropriate in cases where domestic violence is a factor or in family law cases like that for precisely the reason he outlined? Can the Minister provide any sort of timeframe for when this consideration is likely to be complete? I underline the point that it is not simply about the thresholds; it is also about the amount of resources and the availability of lawyers. Otherwise, people will be able to qualify, but if no lawyers are available and they end up on waiting lists forever, then it will not be worth a whole lot. The figures are quite striking. Figures from February 2025 show a waiting time of up to 46 weeks for a first consultation in Sligo, 37 in Longford, 34 in Tallaght, 31 in Kilkenny and 30 in Cavan, so this issue also needs to be addressed.

Sentiment score: -0.15