We welcome the opportunity to make a submission to the Independent Review Group on the Scheme.
The Commission has repeatedly highlighted shortcomings with the Scheme and has previously made recommendations, including to extend the scope of the Legal Aid Board, to review the financial contribution, and to ensure the Legal Aid Board is adequately resourced.
The wider context within which this Review takes place should be acknowledged.
As Ireland recovers and rebuilds from the Covid-19 pandemic, we continue to experience the housing crisis and have now entered a cost of living crisis, exacerbating issues of economic inequality, making fair and effective access to civil legal aid all the more pressing.
The next generation of the Scheme needs to ensure access to justice is a priority, ensure awareness of rights, address the existing procedural and accessibility issues impacting the most structurally vulnerable, and mandate disaggregated equality data.