The legal service to assist asylum-seekers is to have its budget substantially increased next year to cope with the demand from people applying to stay in the Republic.
The Refugee Legal Service (RLS), funded by the Government and established by the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, is to have its budget raised from £1 million to £8.5 million and staff numbers will be increased from 40 to 140.
The investment is necessary to prevent a backlog, the chief executive of the Legal Aid Board, which provides the RLS, Mr Frank Goodman, told The Irish Times.
Mr Goodman said the number of RLS solicitors will jump from seven to 22, and the number of paralegals from 13 to 47. Regional offices are to be opened in Galway, Athlone, Cork, in the south-east region and probably in Mosney, where hundreds of refugees are to be accommodated.
Last year 3,375 asylum-seekers availed of the service, compared to 1,600 in 1999.
Mr Goodman said that many of these had sought help at the stage when they were appealing their cases. However, increasing numbers of people were asking for advice at the beginning of the process. The "whole level of activity" of the RLS was going to increase.
He explained that people were told of the legal service once they made an application for asylum. They were entitled to the legal service at all stages.
An applicant can ask that a solicitor be present for their initial interview, and this request is granted if considered necessary. The solicitors may also assist in making an appeal. The service was set up to provide a comprehensive legal service for asylum-seekers at all stages of the process. Legal services are provided by solicitors from the RLS and in appeal cases by private practitioners from a panel formed for that purpose by the Legal Aid Board.