1.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

“the Act of 1956” means the Civil Service Regulation Act, 1956;

“the Act of 1977” means the European Assembly Elections Act, 1977;

F1["applicant" means, subject to subsection (1A), a person who makes an application for legal aid or advice, or both;]

“application” means an application for legal aid or advice or both;

“the Board” means the Legal Aid Board established by section 3;

“certificate” means a civil legal aid certificate issued by the Board under section 28 authorising the grant of legal aid to the person to whom the certificate relates;

“Chief Executive” shall be construed in accordance with section 10;

“civil servant in the Civil Service of the Government” means a person holding a position in the Civil Service of the Government;

“civil servant in the Civil Service of the State” means a person holding a position in the Civil Service of the State;

“contribution” means the financial contribution payable by an applicant towards the cost of providing legal aid or advice, in accordance with section 29;

“designated matters” has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (9) (a) of section 28;

F2["family mediation services" means services designed to assist persons involved in the process of seeking—

(i) a separation,

(ii) a divorce,

(iii) a dissolution of a civil partnership,

(iv) payment of maintenance,

(v) an order of a court or an agreement relating to guardianship or custody of a child, or to parental access to a child,

to reach agreement relating to some or all of such matters as relate to the persons concerned;]

“employed” means employed under a contract of service or apprenticeship;

“former Board” means the Legal Aid Board appointed under section 2.1 of the Scheme;

“the Fund” means the Legal Aid Fund provided for in section 19;

“law centre” has the meaning assigned to it by section 30;

“legal advice” has the meaning assigned to it by section 25;

“legal aid” has the meaning assigned to it by section 27;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Equality and Law Reform;

“officer of the Board” means a person (other than a solicitor's apprentice or a solicitor of the Board in respect of whom an order under section 11 (5) (a) is not in force) employed by the Board;

“recognised trade unions and staff associations” means trade unions and staff associations recognised by the Board or former Board for the purpose of negotiations which are concerned with the remuneration, conditions of employment or working conditions of officers of the Board and employees of the Board;

F3["relevant person" has the meaning it has in the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015;]

“Scheme” means the “Scheme of Civil Legal Aid and Advice” laid by the Minister for Justice before each House of the Oireachtas in the month of December, 1979, as amended;

“solicitor of the Board” means a solicitor employed by the Board;

“staff of the Board” means officers of the Board and solicitors of the F4[Board;]

F5[“ward” has the meaning it has in Part 6 of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015.]

F6[(1A) A person in respect of whom a request for legal aid or advice, or both, has been made by a coroner to the Board pursuant to section 60 of the Coroners Act 1962 shall be deemed to be an applicant for the purposes of this Act.]

(2) (a) In this Act a reference to a section is a reference to a section of this Act, unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended.

(b) In this Act a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.