document

FLAC annual report

2008

flac annual report 2008

3 FLAC ANNUAL REPORT 2008 C O N T E N T S

contents

Foreword 5

About FLACMission 7Structure and work 7Funding 8

CampaigningCivil legal aid 9Reforming social welfare law 10Reforming credit & debt law 11Putting Public Interest Law in an

Irish context 12

CaseworkCivil legal aid 15Child Benefit 16Other Social Welfare Benefits 16Migrant workers 17Entitlement to Free Travel 17Rights of Transgendered persons 17Right to serve on a jury 18Disability rights 18

Policy & Law ReformConsumer credit & debt 19Social Welfare 19ICCPR Shadow Report 20Equality & Rights Alliance 22Reform of charities legislation 22

Outreach & NetworkingFLAC volunteers & centres 23Volunteer voices 23Fellowships:

Thomas Addis Emmet Fellowship 25William Sampson Fellowship 25

Staff & volunteer training 26Publications 27Website 27

Statistical ReportInformation & referral line 28FLAC centres 30

4 FLAC ANNUAL REPORT 2008

Noeline BlackwellFLAC Director General at Public Interest Lawevent in June 2008.ph

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5 FLAC ANNUAL REPORT 2008 F O R E W O R D

Foreword

During 2008, FLAC developed its work to enhance access to justice in a number of ways. By focusing on thisfundamental human right, we have sought to ensure that those who lack power or resources had their voices heard.At the end of the year, our concerns remain that, in a number of key areas, those who live in poverty or in marginalisedcommunities will find it hard to receive equal treatment and equal access to justice. They may not obtain civil legal aidfor important matters. They may be excluded from the social welfare system. The needs of many ordinary borrowersmay be ignored despite the fact that those same borrowers will help to fund the rescue of their lenders.

The fall-out of the economic crisis which hit in 2008 was swiftly felt by state funded institutions mandated to preservestandards of human rights and equality. Two such institutions, the Human Rights Commission and the EqualityAuthority suffered deep cuts to their budgets as a first reaction to the crisis. A third, the NCCRI, ended its work whenno further funding was available. A fourth, the Combat Poverty Agency, has been subsumed into the Office for SocialInclusion. FLAC joined with many other concerned organisations in regretting the disproportionate nature of the cutsand in calling for urgent protection for equality and human rights.When Ireland emerges from this recessionary period,we do not want to be a society where we preserved our money and property, but abandoned our respect for equalityand basic human rights.

As in previous years, FLAC was encouraged in its work in 2008 by the dedication and perseverance of manyindividuals. This was the year that Dr Lydia Foy, that steadfast campaigner for the rights of transgendered persons, whois represented by FLAC, secured from the High Court the first ever order in this jurisdiction declaring Irish law to beincompatible with the rights guaranteed her by the European Convention on Human Rights. In the same year, FLACundertook a number of important litigation initiatives, including appeals to the Social Welfare Appeals Tribunal toclarify the application of the law on the Habitual Residence Condition. This work has proved again to FLAC thatimportant matters of rights are determined at many levels of tribunal and court.

It is therefore a continuing disappointment that civil legal aid is not available to those who need to make complexlegal arguments before tribunals such as the Social Welfare Appeals Tribunal and the Employment Appeals Tribunal.The blanket denial of legal aid for these tribunal hearings impacts disproportionately on the more vulnerable, less wellresourced side and risks a situation where there is a profound inequality of arms between the parties. All that isneeded to right this inequity is a ministerial regulation.

The annual report is also an opportunity to highlight the work of FLAC’s volunteers around the country. The 400-stronggroup of lawyers which volunteers at centres around the country, ably assisted by the staff of Citizens InformationCentres, provides an important access point to justice by deciphering the law and giving support and encouragementto people to engage with the law in a constructive way. FLAC’s volunteer lawyers also provide much-needed ‘bridge’of legal advice and information to cover months that people may have to wait before they get an appointment at a

6 FLAC ANNUAL REPORT 2008 F O R E W O R D

state funded Legal Aid Board centre. In addition, the statistics that we obtain from our centres help FLAC to get anoverview of the work done in centre, and also provide a unique insight for policy makers in the areas of unmet legalneed in Ireland today. Over a number of years, FLAC has consistently found that while family law matters account forabout one-third of the enquiries to our centres, many callers have pressing concerns on other topics such as housing,employment, debt and social welfare. Many callers too are frightened and perplexed by legal jargon and forms andvery often, the most basic information is all that is needed to satisfy an enquiry.

During 2008, FLAC was active on a number of law reform fronts. In the early days of January 2008, we re-issued‘Moneylending and the Law’. However, given the exceptional nature of the economic collapse, FLAC’s work onconsumer debt and credit took centre stage in the second half of the year. By the end of 2008, FLAC was pressing thegovernment to protect the interests of indebted consumers and warning that the state response to the crisis inmortgage arrears was entirely insufficient, with much of the government’s faith continuing to rest on a financialregulatory system that, by year’s end, had proven itself inadequate.

In addition to this work, FLAC maintained its focus on other areas of human rights law. It was particularly pleased toact in partnership with the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and the Irish Penal Reform Trust in submitting an NGO“shadow” report to the UN Human Rights Committee on the occasion of the Irish Government’s report to thatCommittee on its compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Several of the concernsraised in the NGO report were also taken up by the Committee, thus providing a considered, high level and objectiveendorsement by legal experts of concerns raised by FLAC.

This partnership was just one example of a network of collaborations, discussions, engagements and assistance thatwe gave to and received from many organisation, too numerous to mention, throughout the year. Working in co-operation with others, we believe that we were able to achieve more than we ever could have achieved alone.

FLAC exists because of its conviction that the promotion of access to justice is worthwhile. That conviction maintainsthat the right of access to justice is one of the fundamental rights to which every human being is entitled. Those whowork for and with FLAC also believe that advancing this fundamental right is a significant good for society in general,and can help to end the exclusion of some people from the societies in which they live. This report is a summary ofthe work of the organisation towards achieving this goal.

Peter Ward Noeline BlackwellChairman Director General

7 FLAC ANNUAL REPORT 2008 A B O U T F L A C

ABOUT FLAC

mission

FLAC – the Free Legal Advice Centres – is an independent human rights organisation dedicated tothe realisation of equal access to justice for all and it campaigns through advocacy, strategiclitigation and authoritative analysis for the eradication of social and economic exclusion.

STRUCTURE AND WORK

FLAC was established in 1969 by law students to provide legal information, advice and representation to people whocould not afford to pay for legal services and to campaign for a state civil legal aid system. Today we have a full-timehead office in Dublin. Our organisation is managed by a Board of Directors known as the National Council, electedannually by FLAC’s membership.

Day-to-day management of the office is carried out by the Director General in conjunction with office staff, reportingto the Council. FLAC runs a limited internship programme. Interns provide a solid back-up to the core work of theorganisation.

FLAC is also heavily dependent on the efforts of its volunteer barristers and solicitors in imparting legal advice at itscentres. They provide a desperately needed service to those who cannot afford legal information and advice otherwise.FLAC centres primarily operate out of Citizens Information Centre (CIC) premises and are organised in conjunctionwith CIC staff who make a substantial contribution to the smooth and effective running of our centres.

In pursuit of our goal of promoting access to justice, FLAC works in a number of ways. These include outreach via ourtelephone information and referral line and our legal advice centres, campaigning on core issues and conductingresearch into areas of law and policy where we can bring about positive social change. We also generate publicationsand guides on legal topics with the aim of informing the public about their rights and promoting access to justice.FLAC keeps statistics on legal queries received and conducts research on people’s ability to access justice around thecountry. This has produced solid evidence on the extent of unmet legal needs in Ireland.

8 FLAC ANNUAL REPORT 2008 A B O U T F L A C

COUNCIL

PETER WARDChairperson

NOELINE BLACKWELLDirector General

CATHERINE HICKEYDirector of Funding& Development

PAUL JOYCESenior PolicyResearcher

MICHAEL FARRELLSenior Solicitor

YVONNE WOODSInformation &CommunicationsOfficer

RUTH DOWLINGLegal Assistant(from Feb-Sept)

OTHER MEMBERSOF STAFF

SARAH HORGANVolunteer & CentresCo-ordinator

SAOIRSE BRADYPolicy & CampaignsOfficer

CLARE DENNEHYAdministrator (to 03/2008)

KIRSTY WATTERSONAdministrator(04/2008)

JACQUELINEHEFFERNANInformation Line Co-ordinator

GILLIAN KERNANResearch Officer

EDEL QUINNLegal ResearchOfficer

DON CREWE

ISEULT O’MALLEY

PAUL O’CONNELL

RÓISÍN WEBBJoined Jan 2008

STAFF

FUNDING

FLAC is grateful for the financial contributions from members of the Law Society and Bar Council and to the membersof the legal profession for their support. The organisation is also very thankful to its other funders in 2008:Atlantic Philanthropies Citizens Information BoardDepartment of Justice, Equality and Law Reform Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Combat Poverty Agency FÁS, andThe Joseph Rowntree Trust

9 FLAC ANNUAL REPORT 2008 C A M P A I G N S

CAMPAIGNING

FLAC’s campaigning focuses particularly on areas of lawwhich impact on those who live in poverty or who areespecially vulnerable. We seek to ensure that peoplehave better access to remedies when they need them byimproving the scope of civil legal aid. Reforming socialwelfare law, consumer, credit & debt law are all areas ofconcern for us.

We have also been working to assess how law is usedin the public interest in Ireland at present and how thataspect of law could be better deployed for marginalisedand disadvantaged people.We campaign by:

yyyy analysing and reporting on laws and systems thatrestrict access to justice;

yyyy advocating for law reform

yyyy taking on cases to vindicate an individual’s rights,to court if necessary

yyyy giving information and advice through ourtelephone information line and advice centres andby helping to ensure that people throughout thecountry have a better understanding of their rightsand responsibilities, and of the law affecting them.More information on all our campaigns isavailable on our website.

Civil legal aid:Still no adequate state provision

FLAC carried out a three month survey of 243 people atseveral of its centres in 2008 to see what the publicknows of the state-funded civil legal aid scheme, itsremit and the cost involved.We also carried out a surveyof unmet legal need in north inner-city Dublin. Analysisof data from these studies was still ongoing at the endof 2008 was to be published in early 2009.

The organisation was also very concerned at growingwaiting lists in some state-run Legal Aid Board centres,like Wexford, Galway and Laois.

In February the Dáil debated proposals to change theState civil legal aid scheme in the Civil Law(Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. FLAC welcomed some ofthese proposals, such as Oireachtas scrutiny of the LegalAid Board. However FLAC was concerned about aproposed change to s 28(2) which would have requiredan applicant to prove severe hardship before acontribution could be reduced or waived. Followingrepresentations from FLAC, there was a debate in theOireachtas on this point and the Government amendedits proposal. An applicant now has to prove “undue”

The launchof the LawSociety’sGuide to

Civil Legal

Aid,

September2008.


rather than “severe” hardship to obtain a waiver ofcontribution. FLAC recognises that this not will help allthose who find it costly to access legal aid, but theamendment is welcome. As part of its lobbying, FLACreferred to the recommendation of the Council ofEurope Human Rights Commissioner ThomasHammarberg, that Ireland increase eligibility for legalaid so that it is in line with the cost of living.

FLAC continued to participate in the Law Society’s TaskForce on Legal Aid. In September, the Taskforcepublished Civil Legal Aid in Ireland: Information for theProfession, distributed to every solicitor in Ireland, whichcredited the ongoing work of FLAC and the independentlaw centres.

The organisation also continued its involvement in theLegal Aid Board’s External Consultative Panel, whichmeets about four times a year. The Panel is a forum forthe exchange of views between the Board and itsstakeholders. It allows FLAC to present its concernsabout the state legal aid scheme directly to the Boardand to the other participating organisations.

Reforming social welfare lawIn January 2008, FLAC and the ICCL held aninformation session for NGOs in relation to a review bythe Department of Social & Family Affairs (DSFA) of theSocial Welfare Code and its compatibility with the EqualStatus Act 2000-2004. We made a submission to thereview group highlighting inequalities in the applicationof social welfare law. These included the negativeimpact of the Habitual Residence Condition (HRC), thefailure to extend the Free Travel Scheme to visiting non-resident Irish pensioners and discrimination againstother groups of people such as unmarried fathers,

same-sex couples and people suffering from mentalillnesses. The review group was due to complete itswork by December 2008 although it is not clear if thefindings of this review will be made public.

On 6 February FLAC was invited to make a presentationto the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social & FamilyAffairs on the operation of the HRC. The delegationpointed out the inconsistency in decision-making anddelays in the system and also used the opportunity tocirculate up-to-date information to partner organisations.

New operational guidelines on the HRC were finalisedand published on the Department’s website somemonths after this. The guidelines clearly stated thatpeople whose residence status has not beendetermined cannot receive any social welfare payment.This confirmed a blanket policy to refuse social welfarebenefits other than Direct Provision to all asylumseekers and persons seeking humanitarian leave toremain. FLAC was concerned that this was inconsistentwith the legislation and became involved in a number ofappeals to the Social Welfare Appeals Office that shouldhelp clarify the law in this area. The casework isdiscussed in greater detail later in this report.

The organisation followed this up with a submission tothe Irish Human Rights Commission about concernsaround the operation of the HRC. A closed roundtablediscussion, facilitated by the Commission, was held inOctober between NGOs working in related areas andstate officials. FLAC and others raised a number ofconcerns with civil servants attending the roundtable.

In conjunction with Northside Community Law Centre,FLAC made a submission on the Social Welfare(Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill which was before the


Houses of the Oireachtas in December 2008. Thesubmission focused on the proposed changes to thegranting of Mortgage Interest Supplement as well ashighlighting areas of concern around changes toJobseekers Benefit and Rent Supplement.

FLAC continued its campaign to restore Child Benefit to itspreviously universal status for all children living andgrowing up in Ireland. Dublin City Council and DunLaoghaire/Rathdown Council had previously passedmotions supporting the campaign and it continues to besupported by the Greens, Sinn Fein, Labour and Fine Gael.

In its Pre-Budget Submission 2009, published inSeptember 2008, FLAC again called on the IrishGovernment to consider its obligations and commitmentto upholding the rights of all children in Ireland byrestoring Child Benefit as a universal payment.

Reforming credit and debt lawIn January FLAC launched an updatedMoneylending and the Law booklet whichreceived very positive media coverage.Copies were distributed to CICs, MABS andthe Irish League of Credit Unions and itcontinues to be a popular publication.

Throughout the course of 2008, FLACworked with the Homeless Agency onassessing the risks of homelessness arisingfrom mortgage repossession, providing theAgency with information on the legal aspects

of mortgage arrears and over-indebtedness. This workwas ongoing at the end of 2008.

In March, FLAC spoke at a MABS seminar on the effectsof sub-prime lending for indebted clients. In addition,

the organisation met and corresponded regularly withofficials from the Financial Regulator’s office to discussissues of concern in relation to the provision of credit, inparticular sub-prime lending.

During the summer, FLAC lobbied Irish MEPs on theproposed dilution by the European Parliament ofconsumer protection standards outlined in the newdraft consumer credit directive. FLAC joined with othermembers of the European Coalition for ResponsibleCredit (ECRC) in calling for national governments torestore confidence and stability in the financial marketsto protect consumers from the consequences ofirresponsible lending.

FLAC, together with the Irish Council for Civil Liberties(ICCL) and the Irish Penal Law Reform Trust (IPRT)presented a Shadow Report to Ireland’s State Report inJuly, made to the United Nations Human RightsCommittee under the International Covenant on Civil andPolitical Rights (ICCPR). Article 11 of the ICCPR prohibitsimprisonment for failure to fulfil a contractual obligationand the Committee was very concerned with figurespresented in our Shadow Report on debt-relatedimprisonment. Members of the Committee did not appearto be convinced by the State’s response to these concerns.

In August, FLAC addressed a meeting of creditcontrollers from credit unions around North Dublin onits proposals for reform of the debt enforcement system.

FLAC continued to provide specialist supportthroughout 2008 to the Money Advice and BudgetingService (MABS) in the form of legal training, advice andinformation to its money advisors to assist in their workwith the public. FLAC dealt with 308 legal queries inrelation to MABS clients in 2008 and delivered three


training courses on Consumer Credit law as well asassisting MABS with the drafting of information leaflets.During the second half of 2008, FLAC issued a numberof press releases on the growing problem of mortgagearrears, calling in particular for a moratorium onmortgage possession proceedings where borrowers hadsuffered an adverse change in financial circumstances.Both print and broadcast media quoted FLAC regularlyregarding repossessions and sub-prime mortgages.During this time, FLAC also worked with the IrishCongress of Trade Unions in formulating its position onmortgage arrears and over-indebtedness.

In November, FLAC attended and spoke at theResponsible Credit Conference held in London. This wasorganised by the Centre for Economic and SocialInclusion and supported by the ECRC, the US-basedNational Community Reinvestment Coalition and theUK-based organisation Debt on our Doorstep.

Late the year, FLAC attended a number of meetings aspart of the MABS National Development Company teamto negotiate a debt procedure protocol with the membersof the Irish Banking Federation for use with MABS clients.This work was ongoing at the end of 2008.

Putting Public Interest Law in the Irish context

“Public interest law: its relevance in society today” wasthe subject of a seminar FLAC organised in June. Fourdistinguished lawyers with significant experience in thefield of public interest law made presentations. SueDonaldson of Washington Appleseed spoke about howher organisation engages pro bono attorneys inaddressing systematic social inequalities. Next to speak

was Doug Lasdon, the Executive Director of the UrbanJustice Centre in New York. Frank Murphy, ManagingSolicitor of Ballymun Community Law Centre thenspoke on the topic of “Regeneration and Access toJustice” in Ballymun. The final speaker was MicheleStorms of the Gates Public Law Scholarship Programwho spoke on the relevance of public interest law insociety today.

At the end of the year FLAC hosted the second annuallecture in memory of Dave Ellis in Dublin. Dave,

Attendees of the PIL Roundtable, 21 June 2008

Pictured at the Dave Ellis memorial lecture (L-R): Michael Farrell, FLAC SeniorSolicitor; Steven Shapiro, ACLU; Attorney General Paul Gallagher; and PeterWard BL, FLAC Chairperson.

13 FLAC ANNUAL REPORT 2008 O u t r e a c h a n d N e t w o r k i n g

founder member and driving force behind CommunityLegal Resource and formerly Community Law Officerwith Coolock Community Law Centre (now NorthsideCLC) for over twenty years, died after a short illness in2007. FLAC credits Dave with pioneering much of thecommunity and public interest law work now

developing in this country. The keynote speaker at thelecture was Steven Shapiro, Legal Director of theAmerican Civil Liberties Union, the largest and oldestgeneral civil liberties organisation in the United States.Dave Ellis’ wife Sarah Flynn and various members of hisfamily were also present.

Pictured at a reception hosted by the Law Society are (L-R) Catherine Hickey and Michael Farrell of FLAC, ISRCL President Damien Bugg and Law Society PresidentJames MacGuill.

A major international lawyers' group meeting in Dublingave FLAC an award for its work in promoting pro bonolegal services for disadvantaged persons. TheInternational Society for the Reform of Criminal Lawpresented the award at a reception in the Law Society ofIreland hosted by Law Society President, JamesMacGuill, The presentation was made by Damien Bugg,former Australian DPP and President of the ISRCL. MrBugg said the ISRCL was anxious to honour and support

organisations offering pro bono services in the countrieswhere they hold their meetings. They had beenimpressed by the work of FLAC in providing free legaladvice and information for people who could nototherwise afford it for almost 40 years. Accepting theaward on behalf of FLAC was Director of Funding andDevelopment, Catherine Hickey and Senior Solicitor,Michael Farrell.

Speakers at the PIL Seminar


Pictured after the PIL Seminar on 20June 2008: left to right at backMichelle Storms, Doug Lasdon, KellyMackey, Professor Walter Walsh, KyleSilk-Eglit, Catherine Hickey, the Hon.Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness,Sarah Campbell. In front: SueDonaldson, Noeline Blackwell, OrlaO’Malley and Tobias Danam-Linhs.

Michele Storms, Executive Director,Gates Public Service Law Program,Universtiy of Washington, Seattle.

Sue Donaldson, Executive Drirector,Washington Apple Seed.

Professor Walter Walsh,Universtiy of Washington,Seattle.

15 FLAC ANNUAL REPORT 2008 C A S E W O R K

CASEWORK

Civil Legal Aid

During 2008, FLAC continued to monitor civil legal aidprovision by examining the assessment procedures ofthe Legal Aid Board. The organisation was involved inthe case of Monahan v The Legal Aid Board, theDepartment of Justice Equality & Law Reform, Ireland andthe Attorney General. This case concerned the failure toaward legal aid to a woman whose income was some€217 outside the limit of €18,000.

She sought legal aid to assist her in claiming a newtenancy under the Landlord & Tenant Acts following theend of a protected tenancy in her family home (formerlya rent-restricted property). Her landlord’s solicitors haddirected her to the Legal Aid Board’s law centre foradvice and assistance. Although she had a relativewhom she supported, the Dependant’s Allowance of€1,600 was not awarded to her, putting her outside ofthe means test limit.

FLAC argued on her behalf that the allowance shouldhave been given both on the facts, and on the Board’spowers within the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 and theregulations made under it. FLAC further argued that ifthe allowance was properly refused under the legal aidscheme, then the applicant was in a situation where sheneeded legal aid but could not afford it; thus there wasa gap in the provision of legal aid which denied heraccess to justice.

In addition, there was a complaint that the Board hadfailed to give reasoned decisions for its refusal of thedependent allowance. The case which addressed thecomplaints particularly against the Legal Aid Board was part heard before Mr Justice Edwards in the High Courtin June 2008 and judgment of that part issued on 6October 2008. The judge held that the Board does nothave power to authorise legal aid in the absence ofexpress ministerial regulations.

He also found that the Dependent’s Allowance hadbeen properly refused as the mother of the supportedperson got a social welfare allowance of some €20weekly for him. Mr Justice Edwards noted that inassessing a person’s means, income has to be assessedprospectively. The remainder of this case had yet to beheard at the end of 2008.

FLAC was also involved in the case of O’Brien v LegalAid Board which concerned a Traveller who was refusedlegal aid to defend High Court eviction proceedingsfrom a halting site in Co. Cork. FLAC was given leave forjudicial review of this decision. The legal aid refusal wason the basis that the case concerned “rights or interestsin or over land.” FLAC sought to challenge whether aneviction equates to “rights or interests in or over land”and the exclusion of this area of law from eligibility forlegal aid. This case was still ongoing at the end of 2008.


Child Benefit

FLAC has continued to take a number of cases tochallenge the refusal to grant Child Benefit payment –supposedly a universal benefit – to asylum-seekers andpeople seeking humanitarian leave to remain in theState. The Department had refused payment on a caseby case basis but during 2008 they began to claim thatno-one in the asylum/leave to remain process couldqualify, based on a Supreme Court decision in a casecalled Goncescu v Minister for Justice, Equality and LawReform, which pre-dated the HRC and was not about asocial welfare issue. FLAC has contested this argumentin a number of cases being examined by the Chief SocialWelfare Appeals Officer.

FLAC represented four women in the asylum/leave toremain process who won appeals against the refusal ofChild Benefit, but where the Department then asked theChief (Social Welfare) Appeals Officer (CAO) to reviewthe decisions of the Appeals Officers in question.Meanwhile, the Department has refused to pay thebenefit until the CAO gives his decision. FLAC has takena judicial review case on behalf of one of the women,who has been waiting for payment for over a year sinceher successful appeal.

FLAC went on to seek a review by the Chief AppealsOfficer of four other cases where the clients wererefused benefit because they were in the asylum/leaveto remain process. The organisation argued that theclients were legally within the State while they waitedfor their applications to be decided and that there couldbe no blanket exclusion of a whole class of people fromreceiving benefit without any statutory basis. Thesecases were still ongoing at the end of 2008.

Other Social Welfare Benefits

FLAC also took a number of cases on behalf of peoplerefused other benefits – State Pension, Carer’sAllowance, Disability Allowance – based on theHabitual Residence Condition. Government policyguidelines appear to mandate refusal of all benefits,except Direct Provision, to people in the asylum/leave toremain process, no matter how long they have been inthe country, and this policy was being extended toundocumented workers as well. FLAC was concernedthat this would remove the social welfare safety netfrom whole groups of people. FLAC assisted and workedwith other organisations representing people in theasylum/leave to remain process at social welfareappeals throughout 2008.

FLAC continued its postcard campaign to extend universal child benefit to thechildren of immigrants.


Migrant workers

FLAC had been working with the Migrant Rights CentreIreland on the case of a migrant worker who had paidPRSI contributions over a number of years. When shebecame unfit for work, she was refused Illness Benefitbecause her employer had failed to renew her workpermit. She had no control over this. We hadrepresented her at a social welfare appeal hearing butthe appeal was rejected, relying on a Supreme Courtdecision in 1995 (FÁS v Minister for Social Welfare:Supreme Court 12991, Nos. 240 & 241), which held thatan illegal contract of employment rendered voideverything that flowed from it. This has seriousimplications for other migrant workers who becomeundocumented through no fault of their own. Our clientappealed to the High Court and by the end of 2008 waswaiting to fix dates for hearing.

Entitlement to free travel

In early 2007, FLAC and the International Federation ofHuman Rights (FIDH) had taken the first ever complaintagainst Ireland on an economic/social welfare issueunder the Revised European Social Charter. The Charteris the economic and social equivalent of the EuropeanConvention on Human Rights and its implementation ismonitored by the European Committee on Social Rights.The complaint was over the Government’s refusal toallow Irish pension holders who are not resident inIreland to avail of the free travel scheme for peopleaged over 66 during their periodic visits home.

Apart from the issues in this particular case, we hopedthat taking it would encourage wider use of this newmechanism. Complaints under the Social Charter must

be lodged through a recognised international tradeunion or NGO, and the FIDH generously agreed tocooperate with us in filing this case. Access to theCommittee on Social Rights is relatively cheap and easyas there is no provision for costs orders and norequirement to go through the domestic courts beforelodging a complaint.

The Committee on Social Rights had declared thecomplaint about Free Travel admissible in 2007 despitethe Government’s objections. Detailed pleadings on themerits of the case were exchanged during the first halfof 2008 but, somewhat surprisingly, the Committee onSocial Rights made its decision in July 2008 withoutholding an oral hearing. The Committee recognised thatolder Irish citizens resident outside the State wanted tomaintain links with Irish society but they rejected thecomplaint by 10 votes to four, though the formerPresident of the Committee was among the dissenters.The Committee was influenced by the fact that the FreeTravel Scheme is non-statutory and it held thatexcluding non-resident pension-holders was not inbreach of the Social Charter.

Rights of Transgendered persons

FLAC has continued to represent Dr Lydia Foy, atransgendered woman, in her bid to obtain legalrecognition in her female gender. The case of Foy v Ant-Ard Chlaraitheoir began in 1997 and the High Courtheld against Dr Foy in 2002. However, the EuropeanCourt of Human Rights subsequently held in a caseagainst the UK that it was a breach of the EuropeanConvention on Human Rights for states not to recognisetransgendered persons in their acquired gender.


The case came back before the High Court in 2007 andthe same judge, Mr Justice McKechnie, influenced by therecognition of transgendered people by the EuropeanCourt and in other European countries, said he wouldgrant a declaration that Irish law on the issue wasincompatible with the European Convention. He madethe actual declaration in February 2008, the first suchdeclaration in Irish legal history. The State has appealedto the Supreme Court and we are waiting for a date forhearing the appeal. In the meantime, the UN HumanRights Committee and Thomas Hammarberg, theEuropean Commissioner for Human Rights, have urgedthe Government to change the law to provide forrecognition of transgendered persons.

Right to serve on a jury

FLAC has taken two cases challenging the Juries Act1976, which excluded deaf people and those over 70from serving on juries. This meant that juries were notrepresentative of significant sections of the populationand dismissed and marginalised both groups of people.In the age limit case, FLAC had already issuedproceedings (Sharpe v The Attorney General & Ireland),when the Government agreed to amend the Civil Law(Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, 2006 to remove theupper age limit for jury service. The Bill was passedduring the summer of 2008 and the section removingthe age limit is operative from January 2009.

In the second case, we issued proceedings in 2006 onbehalf of a deaf woman from Galway (Joan Clarke vCounty Registrar for Galway & Others). The State opposedthe application and the case was heard over three daysat the end of May 2008, with judgment reserved. At theend of the year judgment was still awaited in this case,which is very significant for the recognition andinclusion of deaf people in Irish society.

Disability rights

FLAC had taken over some cases from Disability LegalResource when it closed down. During 2008, theorganisation prepared a complex case for a wheelchairuser alleging discrimination by Iarnrod Eireann andsubsequent victimisation when he complained about histreatment. This case was listed for hearing by theEquality Tribunal in late 2008 but was then adjourneduntil January 2009. Another case by a wheelchair useragainst a local authority was also set for hearing by theEquality Tribunal early in 2009.

Dr Lydia Foy with FLAC Solicitor Michael Farrell following the issuing of the firstever Certificate of Incompatibility with the ECHR in her case for genderrecognition in the High Court.

19 FLAC ANNUAL REPORT 2008 P O L I C Y A N D L A W R E F O R M

POLICY AND LAW REFORM

More information on all our policy work, includingsubmissions and policy papers, is available on ourwebsite.

Consumer credit and debt

Throughout 2008, FLAC continued to advise staff of theMoney and Budgeting Service (MABS) as well ascontributing to the agency’s policy guidelines andinformation for callers to their service. In 2008, FLACreceived 308 queries from MABS money advisorsrelating to legal difficulties being experienced by theirclients. Assistance to MABS is a significant part ofFLAC’s work on credit and debt. In November, FLACoutlined the Irish situation on debt at the EuropeanCoalition for Responsible Credit conference 2008 inLondon.

FLAC carried out a survey in 2006/07 to look at theexperience of debtors in the legal system, particularlyfocusing on debt enforcement by instalment orderprocedure. Detailed questionnaires were completed byclients of MABS. The issue is all the more pressing giventhat approximately 1,000 people have been jailed overa five-year period for debt-related offences (some 200imprisonments a year) despite the fact that Irelandofficially does not jail people for non-repayment ofdebt. During 2008, the number imprisoned over debtrose to 276. The results of the survey were beinganalysed at the end of 2008.

Social Welfare

Throughout 2008,FLAC worked on areport on the directprovision system inIreland. This systemwas set up in 2000by the Irish govern-ment to providea c c o m m o d a t i o nand meals to peopleseeking asylum inIreland. We consultedwith other NGOs inour research andcontinued to take part in an alliance of interestedgroups working for reform of the direct provisionsystem. In April FLAC attended the Green Partyconference to highlight these issues on behalf of thealliance. The Green Party supported an increase in thedirect provision allowance and they also agreed to worktowards ending direct provision in the long-term. Twomonths later we presented our findings to a CombatPoverty Agency seminar. In July staff from FLAC went toMosney on an invitation from lone parents groups todiscuss the possibility of giving information sessions onthe social welfare and appeals systems. FLAC also spokeon the social welfare entitlements of asylum seekers ata public forum entitled “Getting it Right” organised byNasc, the Irish Immigrant Support Group, in Cork.

During the year, FLAC also took part in an ad-hoccoalition formed in response to the increasing problemof homeless asylum seekers expelled from direct

Saoirse Brady and Lianne Murphy at tfheGreen Party Conference campaigning forDirect Provision.


provision. The group met to gauge the extent of theproblem throughout the country. The group wrote toboth the Reception and Integration Agency and theHomeless Persons’ Unit within the Health ServiceExecutive to clarify who was ultimately responsible forthese vulnerable people and to highlight the humanrights obligations of all State agencies under theEuropean Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).

The coalition considered the possibility of making anapplication to the courts on grounds of cruel, inhumaneand degrading treatment contrary to the ECHR.Ultimately a case was taken by a private solicitor whoconsulted with the Irish Refugee Council and FLAC inorder to gain more information on the system. Leavewas granted to judicially review the actions of theDepartment of Justice, Equality and Law Reform inexpelling an asylum seeker who was suffering from amental illness which effectively rendered him homeless.The solicitor, along with FLAC, met with Miloon Kothari,former UN Special Rapporteur on the right to housing,to discuss these cases in more detail. The matter waslater settled out of court and the man was readmittedto direct provision accommodation.

ICCPR Shadow Report

Together with the IrishCouncil for Civil Liberties(ICCL) and the Irish PenalReform Trust (IPRT), FLACcommissioned researcherEdel Quinn to prepare aShadow Report to Ireland’sthird periodic report on itsimplementation of the UNInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.Under Article 40 of the Covenant, all States Parties arerequired to submit regular reports on how the rightsprovided for in the Covenant are being implemented. Thisinternational human rights treaty sets out extensive rightsincluding the rights to life, to freedom from torture and toa fair trial.

Desk-based research as well as focus groups, interviewsand consultations with key stakeholders were carriedout in order to compile the document. The trio of NGOsmade a submission to the List of Issues stage in Marchat which key issues to be discussed at the review areidentified. To coincide with the review of the IrishGovernment by the UN Human Rights Committee in

At the launch of theICCPR Shadow Report inDublin, from left: SamPriestly, ITRT, MichaelFarrell, Senior Solicitor,FLAC; Judge MichaelKirby of the AustralianHigh Court and MarkKelly, ICCL.

Geneva on 14 July, the Shadow Report was launched bythe FLAC, ICCL and IPRT in Dublin. The launch receivedsignificant press coverage.

The Irish Government was represented at the review bya delegation of fifteen, including the Attorney Generaland the head of the Department of Justice, Equality andLaw Reform. The NGO group made a presentation tothe Committee on issues of serious concern andengaged in lobbying of the Committee. The Committeepraised the Shadow Report as being one of the bestexamples of such a report that they had seen and saidthat it would stand as a model to others. Ten days laterthe Committee issued its recommendations andobservations. This involved nineteen comments on howIreland can improve its implementation of the Covenantincluding a recommendation to recognise the right of

transgender persons to a change of gender bypermitting the issuing of new birth certificates. The


In Geneva (L-R): Dr Alison Mawhinney, QUB; Sonya Felton, Rehab; NatalieMcDonnell BL; Sandra Gowran, GLEN; Ruth Ni Fhionnain, ICI; Edel Quinn, FLAC.

After the review, Office of the HighCommissioner for Human Rights, PalaisWilson, Geneva.

Back row (L-R): Sophie Magennis, OCO; AlisonMawhinney, QUB School of Law; Jyothi Kanics,IRC; Aoife Daly, TCD; Ruth Ni Fhionnain, ICI;Liam Herrick,IPRT.

Centre-back: Hilkka Becker, ICI; CaoimheSheridan, IRC, Noeline Blackwell, FLAC; Mánusde Barra, OCO.

Centre-front: Natalie McDonnell, IFPA;Stephen O’Hare, Pavee Point; Edel Quinn,FLAC; Sonya Felton, Rehab,

Front: Richie Keane, IFPA; Michael O’Flaherty &Judge Elisabeth Palm, Human RightsCommittee Members; Tanya Ward, ICCL.


Committee did not accept the State’s explanationrelating to imprisonment for civil debt andrecommended that Ireland ensure that its laws are notused to imprison someone for the inability to fulfill acontractual obligation. It also recommended strength-ening the capacity of the Irish Human RightsCommission and reinforcing the effectiveness of statemeasures to ensure gender equality.

The NGO side felt strongly that the findings of the UNHuman Rights body should not end with the issuing ofthe Committee’s comments. FLAC, ICCL and IPRTtherefore decided to hold a follow-up conference and toinvite members of the UN Human Rights Committee aswell as national speakers to participate. Once fundingwas approved in November, planning began for theconference to be held in 2009.

A website (www.rightsmonitor.org) was set up as avehicle for information on the launch of the ShadowReport and the review in Geneva.

Equality & Rights Alliance (ERA)

ERA was established in August 2008 following reportsof a proposed merger of five State bodies, includingequality and human rights agencies, by theGovernment. This move was widely seen as an attemptby the Irish Government to undermine the effectivenessof statutory bodies charged with promoting equality,preventing discrimination and protecting human rights.

Forty groups came together to oppose such a merger,including FLAC. This merger did not go ahead butinstead, on 14 October 2008, Budget 2009 introducedsavage funding cuts of 43% to the Equality Authority

and 24% to the Irish Human Rights Commission. Thispresents a grave challenge to the ability of these bodiesto carry out work programme. The Equality Authoritywas further hit with the announcement that thedecentralisation of Authority staff to Co Tipperary wouldcontinue, despite the halting of decentralisation formost other Government departments.

Budget 2009 also targeted other organisations workingto promote equality and social inclusion formarginalised groups: Combat Poverty Agency wassubsumed into the Department of Social and FamilyAffairs. The National Consultative Committee on Racismand Interculturalism (NCCRI) was abolished. FLAC ispart of the Steering Committee of ERA and has been anactive part of all its campaign actions to date, whichcontinue into 2009.

Reform of charities legislation

New legislation to regulate charities in Ireland finallycame to Dail and Seanad debate stages in 2008.However, the Charities Regulation Bill 2007 had seriousflaws, not least among them the omission of theadvancement of human rights as a recognisedcharitable purpose. FLAC, together with Front Line, theICCL and Amnesty International Ireland, issued aposition paper to Senators as they voted on the Bill forthe last time on 11 December. Despite interventionsfrom Senators David Norris, Jerry Buttimer, Ivana Bacik,Alex White and Dominic Hannigan seeking the inclusionof the advancement of human rights, the Bill waspassed. This may have serious repercussions for thosewho seek to promote and uphold human rights inIreland into the future.

23 FLAC ANNUAL REPORT 2008 O U T R E A C H A N D N E T W O R K I N G

OUTREACH & NETWORKING

FLAC volunteers and centres

Centres round-up

FLAC offers free legal advice through a network of legaladvice centres around Ireland where members of thepublic may speak with a volunteer legal practitioner inconfidence (anonymously if they wish), without beingmeans tested, judged or directed, and receive adviceand referrals appropriate to their needs.

The centres are operated by qualified lawyers whovolunteer their expertise and time. Some centres dorequire people to ring in advance for an appointment.We supply regular training to our volunteers in areas oflaw relevant to their work in FLAC centres. Volunteersalso have access to an online forum which facilitatesthe exchange of information and contains usefuldocuments and publications.

In 2008, new centres opened in Balbriggan, Nenagh,Blackpool (Cork) and Wicklow town. A specialist familyand employment law service at Dublin’s Meath StreetCentre operates three times a month. The specialistimmigration centre at North King Street FLAC now runsweekly.

The student-run FLACs in University College Cork andTrinity College Dublin were both very active in 2008.TheUCC centre holds a legal advice clinic for students everyweek while Trinity students hold their clinic every twoweeks. UCC FLAC Society also organised several legalseminars, some of which included contributions fromFLAC staff.

Volunteer voices:

Emma Flynn (Crumlin FLAC):

I started volunteering in 2008 and it has already been ahuge learning experience for me. FLAC provides anorganised service for individuals who cannot afford togo to a private solicitor. It is a great starting point forindividuals unfamiliar with the legal process. FLACencourages me to improve my communication skills andto keep up to date on different areas of law. FLACalso keeps its volunteers very well updated and provideshelpful training courses. I would recommend FLAC asworthwhile, challenging and rewarding for any solicitoror barrister.

Eithne Reid O'Doherty BL (Ballymun FLAC):

It was with trepidation that I sat in with my mentor onmy first night of volunteering in Ballymun Library. I amhappy to say that I now look forward to meeting thewide range of clients who present on a Thursday nightand to dealing with the diversity of topics raised. In thepast year I have mainly encountered issues in Familyand Employment Law and in relation to Local AuthorityHousing and Probate. The training given by FLAC andthe information support packs are of enormous help. Ican certainly say that volunteering with FLAC hasgreatly enhanced my skills as a lawyer. The interfacewith “real” clients has given me confidence and it isgood to feel that one can make a contribution.


Rosemary Kingston O'Connell (Meath Street FLAC):I started volunteering with FLAC in 1976. We werebased in Tuckey Street in Cork. I have fond memories ofa bus taking FLAC volunteers to the hotel in Fermoywhere we ran a clinic. When I came to Dublin to studyat Blackhall, I lost contact with FLAC, however, onqualifying, and knowing I was leaving Ireland in amatter of months, I didn't look for a job but started aclinic in Mount Argus. My abiding feeling about FLACclients and clients in general is plus ca change plus cestla meme chose. After thirty years, the problemsencountered by clients remain the same. We can'tchange that, but we have travelled along the road withthem for a long time and can be proud of that.

Colleen Coughlan BL (Limerick FLAC)I started to volunteer with FLAC in Ballyfermot duringmy first year at the Bar. It gave me huge confidence ininteracting with people and really opens your eyes topractical legal situations. I now also volunteer in theLimerick centre and the variety of situations that arequeried never ceases to amaze me. It really keeps youup-to-date on the law and is a great way to become atease with consultation scenarios for your own practice.It is a learning experience. I would highly recommendbecoming a volunteer.

Tracy Ennis Faherty BL (Finglas FLAC)When I first decided to volunteer it was because I felt Icould contribute in some small way to helping peoplewho did not have the resources or means to obtain legaladvice through the normal channels. I feel the law centrepromotes a fair legal system where people have accessto legal advice with no charge. The law centre works ona roster system so it is not demanding of your spare timeand you decide how often you wish to volunteer. I have

found volunteering to be an incredibly valuable andrewarding experience. Coupled with this are therelationships you build with other colleagues who helpout at the centre. I would recommend volunteering as away to continue to build on your own knowledge as aBarrister or Solicitor and at the same time share thatknowledge in a valuable and rewarding way.

David Fahy (Galway FLAC)Since 2002 I have volunteered in Galway FLAC. It is avery busy place, particularly of late, but the work isrewarding even if it only entails removing some naggingdoubts that people may have or pointing them towardsother resources or agencies for solutions to their queriesand problems. It is best to keep an open mind, I amalways amazed at the energy levels of fellow volunteerswho have put in long hours during the day. Theexperience of applying your training to diverse areas oflaw and practice to help people in the short timeallocated is challenging in itself but overall a rewardingexperience. My recommendation would be to give it ago, you might even get a kick out of giving somethingback, we all live in the one community!

Street law

Throughout the year, FLAC worked on setting up a

Street Law or Public Interest Law Alliance Programme

with Irish schools to get students interested and

working directly with public interest law. This scheme

may also involve students in FLAC researching queries

received and helping to produce a ‘virtual advice centre’

which FLAC is developing.


Staff & volunteer training

FLAC volunteers are offered regular opportunities toupdate their legal knowledge in the areas of law likelyto present at centres. In March we organised a trainingsession in Dublin for approximately 60 volunteers whichfocused on immigration and employment law. Duringthe summer FLAC held a training session on family law,legal aid and landlord & tenant rights. At the end of2008 we held a further seminar for volunteers focusingon family law, employment law, immigration law andlegal aid.

Above: Speakers at the volunteers training event on 4 November (L-R):Catherine Hickey (FLAC), Jennifer O’Brien (MHC Solrs), Eugene Smartt (Solr),Ruth Dowling BL (FLAC), Ruth Ni Fhionnain (ICI) Keith Walsh (Solr).

Attendees at the November training event.Making notes during a FLAC training course.

Attendies at the June training night.


Fellowships

Thomas Addis Emmet Fellowship

FLAC works in conjunction with the Law School of theUniversity of Washington, Seattle, to provide theThomas Addis Emmet Fellowship in Public Interest Law.The programme sends one Irish law student to Seattlefor two months each summer to get first-handexperience of human rights and public interest lawcases. The programme covers the cost of flights,accommodation and a small subsistence allowance. In2008, the Hon. Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinnesspresented the prize to Kelly Mackey, a postgraduate lawstudent at DIT. Kelly spent nine weeks as a legal internwith the Washington Appleseed Centre for Law in thePublic Interest. Most of her time was spent researchingthe legislative response of various States to predatorylending. She also attended classes at the University ofWashington.

William Sampson Fellowship

The University of Washington, Seattle and FLAC alsocooperate on the William Sampson Fellowship inComparative Public Interest Law. Under thisprogramme, a student from UW comes to FLAC to workas an intern for two months. In 2008 Kyle Silk-Eglitdevoted his time at FLAC to a case involving themarriage bar (repealed in 1974) which prohibitedwomen from working in the public sector after gettingmarried. This case is of concern to FLAC as women whowere adversely affected by the marriage ban are nowapproaching retirement age. They are only now realisingthat their pension benefits are significantly reduced as aresult of their forced resignation from the workforce inthe 1960s and 1970s.

Thomas Addis Emmet and William Sampson Fellows past and present (l-r): KyleSilk-Eglit, Sarah Campbell, Tobias Luhr-Damm, Maeve ní Líothain, Aoife Nolan,Claire McHugh.

Kelly Mackey (right) pictured at the Thomas Addis EmmetFellowship awardceremony for 2008 with runner up-Orla O’Malley and Mrs Justice CatherineMcGuinness.

27 FLAC ANNUAL REPORT 2008 O u t r e a c h a n d N e t w o r k i n g

Publications

FLAC seeks to inform people of their rights andentitlements as well as of developments on particularlegal and policy issues. We produce a quarterlynewsletter, FLAC News, documenting and coveringissues which may be of interest to those working onaccess to justice and public interest law. In January wepublished an update of our highly sought-after guideMoneylending and the Law. We also issue a range oflegal guides on such topics as:

yyyy Probate

yyyy Separation

yyyy Maternity Leave

yyyy Domestic Violence

yyyy Divorce

yyyy Maintenance

yyyy Small Claims Court

yyyy Unfair Dismissals

yyyy Wills

yyyy Deed Poll

yyyy Enduring Power of

yyyy Attourney

yyyy Working Hours

yyyy Cohabitating couples

Website

The FLAC website (www.flac.ie) providesinformation on our work, campaigns andevents as well as resources to downloadsuch as publications and legal guides. It alsofeatures a forum/discussion board forvolunteers and location maps for FLACcentres. The website has proved popular,with an average of over 4,000 visits amonth.

28 FLAC ANNUAL REPORT 2008 S T A T I S T I C A L R E P O R T 2 0 0 8

STATISTICAL REPORTOur Data Collection Programme was introduced in2004 to gain a vital insight into the needs of our callers.This information has in turn strengthened ourcampaigns, especially for a comprehensive civil legal aidservice, and supported our call for urgent law reform inthe area of credit and debt.

Telephone Information & Referral Line

FLAC operates a LoCall telephone information andreferral line, which is open to individuals, localorganisations and advice agencies from 9am to 5pm,Monday to Friday.

Family

Criminal Law

Total legal queries

Table 1 Areas of Law Discussed on telephone information line 2006-2008

Civil Non-Law Family

2006 2007 2008

25.1% 22.8% 20.7%

Children’s Rights — 0.1% 0.2%

Civil 5.3% 5.0% 4.6%

Company — 0.8% 0.5%

Consumer14.4%

5.7% 7.3%

Debt 1.5% 1.7%

Contract 0.8% 2.5% 1.7%

Discrimination/Equality — 0.2% 0.1%

Employment 6.7% 14.1% 20.1%

Housing 1.6% 0.9% 0.7%

Immigration 2.0% 1.8% 1.8%

Landlord and Tenant 2.5% 2.1% 2.5%

Legal Aid 1.8% 4.5% 3.5%

Legal Services 12.4% 18.1% 10.7%

Personal Injuries2.5%

1.3% 2.2%

Tort — 1.3%

Probate 6.9% 5.4% 5.9%

Property 6.2% 3.7% 4.4%

Social Welfare 1.1% 0.9% 0.9%

Solicitor/Client Issues 3.0% 4.0% 3.8%

Miscellaneous 2.7% — —

5.0% 4.6% 5.7%

5,786 6,034 9,244


In 2008 FLAC head office received 9,244 telephoneenquiries to its information service. This number is up53% from 6,034 calls in 2007 (Table 1). The number ofcalls made to FLAC’s information and referral line hasalmost doubled since 2004, showing an increase in theneed for legal information and a growing awareness ofFLAC’s service.

Family law was again last year the largest area ofenquiry, with one-in-five calls to the information linebeing in this sector. The most noticeable increase is therise in employment law queries, which grew from 6.7%

of calls to the information line in 2006 to 20.1% in2008, accounting for one in every five calls during2008.

While the actual number of family law calls increasedbetween 2006 and 2008, as a percentage of total callsfamily law queries fell from one-quarter of all calls in2006 to just one- fifth of all calls in 2008, showing anincrease in demand for legal assistance in non-familylaw matters.

Family

Criminal Law

Total legal queries

Employment Law

Table 2 Areas of law discussed at FLAC centres 2004-2008

Civil Non-Law Family

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Count % Count % Count % Count % Count %

1249 35.3 1425 37.4 1504 33.7 1,741 32.7 2438 31.5Employment Law 361 10.2 343 9.0 455 10.2 508 9.5 1094 14.1

Succession/Probate 293 8.3 342 9.0 395 8.8 393 7.4 275 3.6

Property 265 7.5 288 7.6 389 8.7 436 8.2 439 5.7

Housing/Landlord 247 7.0 275 7.2 336 7.5 330 6. 2 521 6.7

Consumer Law 179 5.1 192 5.0 265 5.9 348 6.5 505 6.5

Credit and Debt 123 3.5 120 3.1 135 3.0 153 2. 9 259 3.4

Neighbour Dispute - - - - - - 205 3.9 157 2.0

Immigration/Refugee law 95 2.7 83 2.2 83 1.9 222 4.2 258 3.3

Negligence/Personal Injury - - - - 102 2.3 165 3.1 413 5.3

Wills/Power of Attorney 3 0.1 1 0.03 13 0.3 14 0.3 268 3.5

Client-Solicitor Relations 41 1.2 49 1.3 34 0.8 20 0.4 89 1.2

Social Welfare Law 63 1.8 58 1.5 68 1.5 99 1.9 139 1.8

Other civil matters 420 11.9 445 11.7 444 9.9 392 7.4 446 5.8

Total non-family 2090 59.1 2196 57.6 2719 60.8 3,285 61.7 4863 62.7

197 5.6 190 5.0 245 5.5 297 5.6 432 5.6

3536 100 3811 100 4468 100 5,323 100 7,733 100


FLAC centres

In addition, FLAC provides legal information and advicethrough the 70 legal advice centres. Twenty one ofthese it administers directly, with the remaining onesrun through Citizens Information Centres. By the end of2008, 47 legal advice centres were participating in theData Collection Programme, and 7,233 data collectionforms were returned to FLAC head office in 2008. Thiswas a substantial increase on the 4,815 data collectionforms returned by centres in 2007.

The total number of queries recorded in 2008 was7,733. Table 2 shows the type of legal queries thatvisitors to FLAC centres brought in the four years to2008.

In 2008 employment law queries accounted for justover 14% of all legal queries, and were the secondlargest area of law discussed at the centres. The centresalso saw an increase in the number of credit and debtlaw related queries. 259 credit and debt queries wererecorded in 2008, compared with 159 in 2004.

Compared with previous years, the percentage of callerswho had engaged a solicitor in relation to their queryhad fallen to less than 10%. The majority of thosequeries which had already been discussed with a privatesolicitor were family law issues.

Where further legal advice or legal representation isneeded, FLAC advisors make referrals to appropriateagencies. In 2008, 4,443 clients (61.4%) were referredon to another body as follows:

Of the 1,996 clients referred on to a private solicitoronly 27%, or 535 cases, concerned family law.

Table 3 Client Referrals, 2008

Client referred to: Number of Clients: %

Legal Aid Board 1,435 20

Private Solicitor 1,996 28

Family Mediation 225 3

MABS 71 1

FLAC 53 1

CIC 79 1

District Court 215 3

Other 1,068 15

Nnenne Ibezim at the telephone information and referral line at FLAC headoffice.


Conclusion

Family law continues to be the largest area of enquiryon both the phone lines and in the centres. However, asa percentage of total calls family law queries fell fromone-quarter of all calls in 2006 to just one-fifth of allcalls in 2008, showing an increase in demand for legalassistance in non-family law matters. Employment lawqueries and credit and debt queries increasedparticularly last year and were the second largest areaof law discussed at the centres.

There were marked increases in queries related to ourspecialised areas of work including debt and credit aswell as social welfare. From 2004 to 2008 there was a55% increase in people attending FLAC centres withsocial welfare issues (29% increase from 2007 to 2008)

and the number of people with debt and credit queriesmore than doubled in 2008 from the 2004 figure(53%).

The figures for immigration and refugee advice for 2007and 2008 were significantly higher than in the previousthree years. There is a need to ensure that persons withsuch queries are able to access appropriate legal adviceand representation through the Legal Aid Board ifnecessary.

FLAC would like to take this opportunity to thank allthose who completed client data forms for theircommitment to this research programme, whichprovides valuable insights for us on the gaps thatremain in meeting legal needs in Ireland.

Other

District Court

CIC

FLAC

MABS

Family mediation

Private solicitor

Legal Aid Board

3%

1.1%

0.7%

1.0%

3.1%

27.6%

19.8%

14.7%

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

4303 4480

57866034

9244

Client referrals Number of calls to the telephoneinformation line

ISSN: 0791-7775

© FLAC, November 2008

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Any of these conditions can be waived if you get permission from FLAC

Photos courtesy of Derek Speirs, Maxwells, Jack Storms, Courtpix

Graphic design and print: Printwell Co-operative, Dublin 1.

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