Legal Aid Board funded to recruit 15 staff for international protection needs

Funding for fifteen additional full-time staff members was provided to the Legal Aid Board to support with the implementation of the International Protection Act 2015.

Independent TD Catherine Connolly asked Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald what resources have been made available to the Board to assist asylum seekers with lengthy new application forms which were sent out this month.

The Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI) has said that free legal advice services are being overwhelmed by calls from around 3,000 asylum seekers who received the new forms this month.

Responding to Ms Connolly, Ms Fitzgerald said the Legal Aid Board “has committed to providing all international protection clients with early legal advice on all aspects of their application (including, for example, Asylum, Subsidiary Protection and Permission to Remain)”.

She added: “Significant additional funding to provide for 15 full time staff for the Legal Aid Board has been provided by my Department. In addition, the budget assigned by the Board for Private Practitioners in International Protection cases has been increased.

“The Legal Aid Board’s contact details have been included in correspondence from the International Protection Office to applicants and information on the service provided by the Board is available on the Board’s website, www.legalaidboard.ie.”