Flac news winter 2011

flacNewsI S S N 0 7 9 1 4 1 4 8 l V O L U M E 2 1 l N U M B E R 4 l O C T O B E R - D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2

F R E E L E G A L A D V I C E C E N T R E S

MMaakkiinnggaacccceessss ttoojjuussttiiccee aarreeaalliittyy

Continued on page 8 Baroness Nuala O'Loan delivering the 5th Dave Ellis Memorial Lecture, 1 December 2011.

The fifth Dave Ellis MemorialLecture took place onThursday 1 December in

Dublin's Rotunda Hospital. The annualevent is intended to underline howimportant access to justice is foreveryone and to remind us that thereis no point in having systems forredress in law if there is no way for avast majority of people to access them.This year's lecture was delivered byformer Northern Ireland PoliceOmbudsman, Baroness Nuala O’Loan,who talked about making access tojustice a reality. In particular, sheaddressed the obstacles posed by sky-high legal costs and a complex legalsystem to accessing justice in Ireland.As a long-standing champion ofdisadvantaged people, BaronessO'Loan has much in common with thelate Dave Ellis, making it fitting that shespeak at his memorial lecture.

Nuala O'Loan asked some hardquestions about how the stateapproaches its funding of legal servicesto its people. In particular, she singledout the twin barriers of an overlycomplex legal system and high costsfor legal services. These pose huge

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flac News | Vol. 21, No. 4

F L A C N E W S l O C T O B E R - D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 122

iinn tthhiiss eeddiittiioonn......Making access to justice a reality 1, 8-9

FLAC issues guide to civil legal aid in Ireland 2

Free Ales Bialiastski 2

Editorial:On reforming legal services 3

Joining forces to tackle personal debt:A question of 9 principles 4

Action urgently needed in face of rising mortgage arrears 5

A positive equality duty for theIrish public service? 6

Consultation on ESC rights before UN treaty examination 7

Trocaire group visit 7

Court refuses access to appealdecision in 'Jama' case 10

European law seminar looks at access to social security 10

Continued rise in demand forFLAC services 11

Transgender legislation soon? 11

Success for FLAC clients 11

PILA Updates: 12-13

Focus on FLAC:Iseult O’Malley SC 14

Inside the centre: FLAC Dundalk 15

FLAC updates 16

FLAC NEWS is published quarterly byFree Legal Advice Centres Ltd.,13 Lower Dorset Street, Dublin 1.

Editors: Aine Walsh & Yvonne Woods

Layout and Printing: Printwell Co-operative, Dublin 1

Contributors: Noeline Blackwell,Saoirse Brady, Emer Butler, John Deignan,Michael Farrell, Connie Gerety, JulietteHopkins, Orla Hubbard, Gillian Kernan,Paul Joyce, Sinead Madden, Sinead Mahon,Karen McLaughlin, Lianne Murphy, AineWalsh, Kim Watts & Yvonne Woods.

ISSN 07914148The views of individual contributors donot necessarily represent the views ofFLAC.

FFLLAACC iissssuueess GGuuiiddee ttoo CCiivviill LLeeggaall AAiidd iinn IIrreellaanndd

In November, FLAC produced aguide explaining the system of civillegal aid in Ireland and highlighting

the difference between FLAC and theLegal Aid Board and between thedifferent types of assistance available tothose needing help on a legal matter.

In Ireland, legal aid in civil cases is fundedby the State and provided through theLegal Aid Board. Over the past numberof years there has been a considerableincrease in demand for the Legal AidBoard's services. However, this hascoincided with a decrease in availablefunding which has resulted in significantdelays for people seeking legal aid andadvice from the State-funded system.

People are therefore turning to FLAC ineven greater numbers for once-off legalinformation and advice; however, as anon-governmental voluntary body, FLACcannot offer legal representation toclients. By 1 November this year therewere 4800 people awaiting their first

appointment with a Legal Aid Boardsolicitor and in some Law Centres thereis a waiting time of up to 11 months fortheir first appointment.Sadly, therefore, there is a clear gapbetween the public's actual need for helpin civil legal matters and the ability of theLegal Aid Board to provide that help.Thisis where FLAC, as an independent legalrights body, aims to supplement but notreplace the state system while raisingawareness of this glaring deficiency andcampaigning to improve the State'sprovision.

The new FLACsheet on Civil Legal Aidprovides an overview of the civil legal aidsystem, including eligibility, application,costs, termination, appeals process,complaints and cross-border civil legalaid.

FLAC staff and interns call for justice in support of Ales Bialiatski, a human rights activist inBelarus who was arrested in August 2011 and sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for 'tax

evasion' on 24 November. Ales is chairperson of the Belarusian human rights centre Viasna.Many see the trial as an attempt by Belarusian authorities to end Ales' activism and

discourage other human rights defenders. More info at bit.ly/FLACales

FFrreeee AAlleess BBiiaalliiaattsskkii CCaammppaaiiggnn

Download the FLACsheet at:http://www.flac.ie/publications

/flacsheet-on-civil-legal-aid/


F L A C N E W S l O C T O B E R - D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 1 33

OOnn rreeffoorrmmiinngg lleeggaall sseerrvviicceessEE DD II TT OO RR II AA LL ::

The Legal Services Bill 2011 is oneof the most extensive and radicalproposals for change in how

lawyers deliver their services in a longtime.As access to legal services is crucialto access to justice, the Bill deservesexamination from the perspective of thatfundamental human right.

The Bill’s main proposal is for a newregulatory authority and disciplinarytribunal. The regulatory authority is todeal with the admission and regulation ofpractitioners and handling complaintsagainst lawyers.The Disciplinary Tribunalwill sanction misconduct. It is clear fromFLAC's contacts with the public thatmany people are unhappy with thecurrent system for complaint about thelegal service that they receive.They see itas unfair and biased towards lawyers.Whatever protest the Law Society or BarCouncil might properly make that thesystem is fair and that clients get athorough investigation of their complaint,the problem is that the system is devisedby and rooted in the professional bodiesand therefore has great difficulty jumpingthe hurdle that not only must justice bedone, but that it be seen to be done.

The proposed authority, principallycomprised of lay persons appointed bythe government is undoubtedly intendedto reform that unease. However, ascurrently structured, it may only haveshifted the risk from a perceived biastowards the legal professions to a newbias to the will of the government of theday. A government appointed andremoved authority where the Ministerfor Justice of the day has a high level ofdirective power all raise seriousquestions about its independence.Hopefully, the debate on the Bill as itpasses through the Oireachtas will see arevised and manifestly independentmodern structure emerge which isclearly compliant with the democraticseparation of powers as well as principlesof international human rights basicprinciples relating to the independence oflawyers.

THE EU/IMF requirement to tackle legalcosts was a clear impetus for this Bill.Despite improvements in recent years,callers to FLAC consistently complainabout legal fees. This Bill will impose

increased obligations for lawyers to beclear about their fees so that shock andconfusion should be greatly reduced.While this alone will not reduce costs, itshould allow people to be betterinformed in dealings with their lawyers.However, the proposals for adjudicatingon legal accounts disputes remainscomplex and indeed may be even morecomplicated than the existing one.

The Bill also has the capacity to increasecosts rather than reduce them. Itproposes the removal of restrictions onpartnerships between barristers, be-tween barristers and solicitors andbetween multiple disciplines.That may bein the interest of lawyers, but may not bein the interest of consumers. Currently, asolicitor will form an ad-hoc partnershipwith a barrister for the duration of acase. Thereafter they have no duty toeach other. This facilitates clients andmakes a greater pool of barristersavailable to solicitors. It is foreseeablethat under the proposed system,particularly if specialist barristers mergeinto large commercial firms, those whomight need occasional specialist advicewould find they could only avail of itthrough a more expensive system – ifindeed they can get access to the

barrister at all; entirely contrary to thespirit of the Bill.

The Bill is focussed on commercial lawpractice rather than on access to justiceand as it currently stands does notaddress a number of barriers particularlyidentified by the Public Interest LawAlliance as barriers to public interestlitigation. In spite of the fact that thosewho need the courts to vindicate rightswill almost always be able to engage alawyer to act on their behalf, publicinterest litigation remains extremelystressful and risky for those who bringsuch cases. This Bill, seeking to reformlegal services, is a vehicle for theOireachtas to ensure that such peopleare better protected through clarifica-tion at the outset that public interestlitigants will not face a massive costsorder against them if they lose. It mayalso provide for the capacity to bring acase through a multi-party action orthrough a representative body.

Overall therefore, while the need forreform of legal costs and legal services isclear and the current Bill has capacity toadvance access to justice, it will needsignificant adjustment in the course of itspassage through the Oireachtas if it is todo so.

TThhoommaass AAddddiiss EEmmmmeett FFeellllooww 22001111 AAwwaarrdd

FLAC Chairperson Peter Ward SC with Thomas Addis Emmet Fellow 2011 Fiona McNulty,Baroness Nuala O’Loan and FLAC Director General Noeline Blackwell. Fiona was awarded hercertificate on 1 December at the Dave Ellis Memorial Lecture. She had spent her summer atthe University of Washington, Seattle, where she obtained first-hand experience in human

rights and public interest cases as part of the Thomas Addis Emmet Fellowship.

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JJooiinniinngg ffoorrcceess ttoo ttaacckkllee ppeerrssoonnaall debt: A question of 9 principles

On 19 October, FLAC and anumber of other organisationsand researchers working in the

fields of debt, housing, homelessness andpoverty launched a joint statement on theneed for personal debt law reform. Theinitiative was titled '9 Principles toOvercome Personal Indebtedness’. Deeplyconcerned by government inaction on thepersonal debt crisis, these organisationsjoined forces to pool their knowledge andto alert policymakers and the generalpublic to the economic and human cost offurther inertia.

This initiative marked the culmination ofseveral months’ discussion on thepersonal debt crisis by these stakeholders.It aimed at encouraging Government toadopt a holistic approach vis-à-vis personaldebt. This issue was particularly pertinentgiven that a government-appointed groupled by accountant Declan Keane hadreported on solutions to the debt crisis afew weeks earlier.

The '9 Principles' document advocates 9key principles, which can be broadlysummarised into three points. First, thereis a pressing need for an all-debt responseto the crisis – frontline organisations suchas those who signed the 9 principlesdocument are reporting that a growingnumber of debtors have multiple debtproblems - credit card bills, personal bankloans, hire purchase agreements, creditunion debts as well as a mortgage.Anotherimportant facet of this all-debt response isthat it must encompass new personalinsolvency legislation.

Secondly, there is a need for theestablishment of a debt settlement agencyto adjudicate on debt settlement cases.Tothis end there ought to be an independentadjudicatory body which has the power toimpose binding decisions, with the right ofappeal to the courts. Debtors should haveaccess to an advocate as part of thisprocess, not least to satisfy therequirement of fairness. Thirdly, the jointstatement advocates keeping homeownersin their homes where possible andappropriate.

The joint statement thus urges immediateaction to offer hope to hard-presseddebtors. It also emphasises that there are

a number of spillover effects from thecurrent debt crisis – such as increases inmental health problems, crime and thehuge strain placed on social welfare.Theseorganisations further urge that thegovernment adopt these policies as atemplate for reform because the cost ofinaction is too high.

This is borne out by the Central Bank’squarterly figures on mortgage arrears,which illustrate a steady quarter-on-quarter increase. While the Code ofConduct on Mortgage Arrears offers somerespite, it remains a weak mechanism.Furthermore, even where mortgages havebeen restructured, there is a highincidence of people relapsing into arrears.This is testament to the kernel of the jointstatement: a lasting, durable solution mustbe put in place as the current approach isfalling considerably short of what isrequired. However, there must be thepolitical will to do this.

The joint statement has been wellreceived in many quarters, not least in theOireachtas where it has been referred toby numerous members of the Seanad andDáil. The launch itself was attended byseveral public representatives. Later thatsame day after the event, members of thegrouping appeared before the JointOireachtas Committee on Finance, PublicExpenditure and Reform to present theirviews on these issues.Following on from this process, the

participating organisations launched anaction inviting people to email their localTDs to endorse the '9 principles'document as a means to tackling the debtcrisis. To date there has been a goodresponse to this with over a thousand e-mails sent to TDs around the country.

The organisations and individuals whosigned up to the initiative are: FLAC,Threshold, Focus Ireland, New Beginning,Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, NorthsideCommunity Law Centre, BallymunCommunity Law Centre, Respond!Housing Association, Dr Stuart Stamp(NUI Maynooth), Ciara Murray (PublicInformation Consultant), Simon Brooke(Housing and Social Policy Consultant), DrMichelle Norris (University CollegeDublin), Dr Padraic Kenna (NUI Galway).

q You can download the full '9 principles'statement from FLAC’s website at:http://www.flac.ie/publications/nine-key-principles-to-overcome-debt/

q Get involved in the campaign online athttp://takeaction.focusireland.ie/takeaction/call-for-urgent-action-on-mortgage-arrears" \t "_blank"http://bit.ly/act9debt

q Keep up to date with FLAC's workon personal debt and mortgagearrears at http://bit.ly/flac1debt

Pictured L-R at press conference: John Mark McCaffrey (SVP); Bob Jordan (Threshold); Paul Joyce& Noeline Blackwell (FLAC); Joyce Loughnan (Focus Ireland); David Hall (New Beginning).


55F L A C N E W S l O C T O B E R - D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 1

AAccttiioonn uurrggeennttllyy nneeeeddeedd iinn ffaaccee ooff rriissiinngg

mmoorrttggaaggee aarrrreeaarrss

T he latest figures on mortgagearrears nationwide, released bythe Central Bank on 18

November, show the number of familyhome mortgages in arrears of threemonths or more continues to rise. Therehas been an increase of more than 55% inthe last year alone. When the number ofmortgages which have been renegotiatedto make payments more manageable isalso taken into account, the figures reveala total of 99,346 distressed loans, or12.85% of all home mortgages.

The Central Bank's Director of ConsumerProtection, Bernard Sheridan, has said thatconsumers struggling with mortgagerepayments or who fear they will fall intodifficulty need to make contact with theirlenders as early as possible. "The earlieryou make contact with your lender themore likely you are to come to amanageable solution," he advises.However, the figures indicate that currentarrangements which see borrowers payinginterest-only, paying less than interest ortaking a moratorium on payment nowaccount for at least 54% of all rescheduledmortgages. In addition, more than one-eighth of rescheduled mortgages involvechanges to the actual term of themortgage, which means many people arebuilding up more long-term debt. FLAC is

concerned that these types ofarrangements are not in fact manageable inthe medium to long term, and thecontinuing absence of legislation toreschedule personal indebtedness is beingkeenly felt by many of these households.The reality is that legislative action wasurgently needed when the Expert Groupon Mortgage Arrears (the Cooney Group)was formed in March 2010 and issued itsreport in November of that year; sincethen the situation has deterioratedconsiderably. The most recent report, theInterdepartmental Report on MortgageArrears (or Keane Report), contains someworthwhile proposals but is also far froma complete solution, given that it focusesalmost entirely on mortgage arrears.

As of the end of 2011, there is still no Billpublished nor firm proposals made thatset out the government’s blueprint on howto attempt to resolve the personal debtcrisis, despite the assistance of a series ofreports from the Law ReformCommission culminating in a draftpersonal insolvency bill in December2010. We still have incomplete data onhow much over-indebtedness actuallyexists, most critically in the interplaybetween mortgage debt and otherunsecured personal debt. For example, wedo not seem to know how many of the

99,346 households in difficulty with theirmortgage also have other significant in-debtedness, vitally important informationthat must inform the forthcominglegislation if the required ‘all debt’approach is to be put in place.

The current crisis in personal debt hasexposed like never before theinadequacies of our current system indealing with ever more complex financialsituations. FLAC calls on the governmentto take this opportunity to totally revisitits position on personal indebtedness andaddress the mistakes of recent misguidedpolicy. We urge the Ministers involved tofully engage with all stakeholders toimplement a complete overhaul of thelegal system in this area and to continuallymonitor the effectiveness of the newregime thereafter. For the growingnumber of households facing into future ofa future of financial distress, this must be apriority.

q See above for FLAC's recent jointstatement with other nationalorganisations advocating on behalf ofpeople struggling with debt problems.

ddeebbtt:: AA qquueessttiioonn ooff 99 pprriinncciipplleess

11.. Over-indebtedness – It is inability to payrather than a lack of willingness to do so that isat the heart of the personal debt crisis. Over-indebtedness is a deep social and economicproblem that requires a multi-dimensionalstrategic response from government.

22.. The need for data – Comprehensiveinformation is urgently needed to quantify theextent of the debt problem. Policy initiativesundertaken must be constantly evaluated inlight of such data.

33.. Multiple debt – Proposed solutions musttake all debt liabilities into account to beeffective and workable.

44.. Personal insolvency legislation - Thereis an immediate need for the introduction ofpersonal insolvency legislation. A DebtResolution Agency should be established tooversee the legislative scheme to ensuretransparency and consistency.

55.. Debt write-off - Insolvent debtors shouldpay to the best of their ability for a limited timeperiod and remaining debt should then bewritten off.

66.. Access to representation - Debtorsmust be entitled to have an advocate representtheir interests in negotiations to agree orprocesses to contest debt repayments.

77.. Minimum income - Debtors must beentitled to a minimum income to meet theirbasic needs while repaying debts.

88.. Unsustainable mortgages - The fact thatsome mortgages are unsustainable must berecognised and where repossession results,appropriate social housing and social welfarerights must be provided to such households.

99.. Retention of dwelling - State supportsshould aim to keep people in their homeswhere possible, whether in an ongoingmortgage or as a tenant where appropriate.

The nine principles outlined by the group are:

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A positive equality duty for theIrish public service?

On 16 November the Equality& Rights Alliance held aseminar on the feasibility of a

positive equality duty for the Irish publicservice. With examples from otherjurisdictions and proposals for the Irishcontext, the event was very worthwhilefor anybody interested in promotingequality in Ireland.

A positive duty requires public sectororganisations to have due regard toeliminating discrimination and promo-ting equality for groups covered byequality legislation, and to protect andfulfill human rights. This requirementcovers the functions of public sectororganisations as employers, serviceproviders and contractors of goods andservices.

As it stands, Irish public sectororganisations must take steps to avoiddiscriminating against employees andservice users as demanded by equalitylegislation. ERA argues that a positiveduty would require them to activelypromote equality and human rights forboth service users and employees. Thepromotion of equality and human rightswould become core to how publicsector bodies operate as employers,service providers and contractors ofgoods and services.

Further, the Programme for Govern-ment 2011 contains a commitment to'require all public bodies to take duenote of equality and human rights incarrying out their functions'. A positiveduty would be an efficient way to bothrealise this commitment and strengthenthe statutory equality and human rightsinfrastructure.

ERA Co-ordinator Rachel Mullenopened the event explaining theAlliance's belief in the benefits of apositive duty for equality and humanrights in Ireland, as summarised above.Chief Commissioner of the NI EqualityCommission Bob Collins then set a

context of equality in Northern Irelandas central to overcoming decades ofconflict and as delimited by theNorthern Irish Act and Good FridayAgreement. The duty in NI is not todeliver equal outcomes but to 'have dueregard to promote' equality. Publicbodies are explicitly designated bystatute and must produce an equalityscheme for approval by the EqualityCommission. Bob explained that the NIscheme required public bodies toreport on equality issues in relation totheir individual schemes as well asconsult on strategy. Also, funding to NIgovernment departments is contingenton them delivering an equality impactassessment. He acknowledged that ageneral equality duty may deliver betterequality outcomes for people's lives inNI. Bob highlighted three issues to thinkabout for a statutory duty: the need toembrace equality in policy develop-ment; a focus on equality outcomes; andengaging the public when formulatingpolicy.

Aasulv Solstad, Senior Adviser with theNorwegian Equality & Anti-Discrimina-tion Ombud, described the Norwegianduties, which centre mainly on thepublic service as an employerpromoting equality on grounds ofgender, disability and ethnicity for themost part.While bodies must report onmeasures they take, the Ombud has nocompetence to impose a duty on anemployer, being limited to suggestingactivities. Also, the various equalitystrands have differing levels ofobligation. Aasulv felt that while theNorwegian equality duty had beensuccessful in terms of raising awarenessof equality, and of the gender ground inparticular, due to lesser requirementsfor other grounds it had had acorrespondingly lesser impact. Ingeneral, the Norwegian duty hadtracked progress on equality in thepublic sector as a workplace, but therewas a need to strengthen its pro-tections and provide greater resourcesand stronger institutions.

Finally, Professor Seamus Taylor of NUIMaynooth talked about his time in

England as lead official in the roll-out ofthe UK public sector race equality dutyfor the Commission for Racial Equality.He then changed jobs to implement therange of public sector duties for theCrown Prosecution Service. By 1999,the UK government accepted it had togo beyond an individual complaintsmodel to tackle inappropriate publicsector responses to racism and indeedinstitutional racism. Following a seriesof discrete equality duties on race,gender and disability, the Single EqualityAct of 2010 led to a general publicsector equality duty.This requires publicbodies in the UK to eliminate unlawfuldiscrimination, advance equality ofopportunity and foster good relations.

Independent evaluations of the UKmodel by Schneider Ross Consultantsover 2004 to 2009 backed the dutiesapproach and particularly the use ofcommunity involvement to driveimprovements. Seamus' experience inthe CPS showed the positive results:reduced crime figures, greater diversityin senior ranks and higher publicconfidence in the police. He argued thatthe Irish government might well see acongruence between the public sectorreform agenda and an equality duty. Heeven proposed a wording:

Public authorities are required tohave due regard to the need totake planned actions to advanceequality and social inclusion, toprotect and promote human rights;to promote good relations and toreport publicly annually on theirachievements.

Seamus concluded that an equality dutyis wholly appropriate to any modernpublic service, noting the importance ofcommunity involvement and a focus onoutcomes rather than the process itself.Ultimately, a positive duty is "one leverin wider efforts to realize a better, moreequal Ireland".

More information at:http://eracampaign.org



Consultation on ESC rights beforeUN treaty examination

On 3 November 2011, theDepartment of Foreign Affairsheld a public consultation in

advance of the State submitting its thirdnational report under the InternationalCovenant on Economic, Social andCultural Rights (ICESCR) in December2011. The State was last examined bythe Committee on Economic, Socialand Cultural Rights in 2002.

The State published a draft of its thirdreport in advance of the meeting andinvited organisations and individuals tomake submissions about issues ofparticular concern. FLAC submitted apreliminary list of issues which firstlycalled on the Government toincorporate the Covenant intodomestic law. The government statesthat all of its obligations under theCovenant are met through policiesdesigned to combat poverty anderadicate social exclusion. However, wealso highlighted the cuts which havealready been made to bodies whichserve the particular needs ofmarginalised people, in particular thecomplete abolition of the CombatPoverty Agency which the Committeehad commended during the previousexamination.We reminded the State ofits obligation to make the best possibleuse of its resources while at the sametime progressing rights.

Other FLAC areas of work werehighlighted including the impact of thedirect provision and dispersal systemon asylum seekers, the ability to accessthe social security system and the rightto housing, particularly in the contextof over-indebtedness and mortgagearrears and the right to civil legal aid.

The consultation was attended byacademics, students and a range of civilsociety organisations. Various issueswere raised including the treatment ofasylum seekers, non-denominationalschools, self-determination and recog-nition of Travellers’ ethnicity as well asother economic, social and culturalissues.

Colin Wrafter, Director of the

Department's Human Rights Unit,explained that the State Report wouldonly deal with events up to December2010.As it usually took up to four yearsto schedule an examination by theCommittee, it was important to submitthe report as early as possible.

Given the timeframe, FLAC will be

updating its initial list of issues nearerto the time of the hearing.

Information about theprocess and relevant

documents can be found at:http://www.dfa.ie/home/

index.aspx?id=319

Back row, left to right: Noeline Blackwell (FLAC),Tanja Kleibl (Maynooth), LawrenceMwagwabi (Kenya), Conor Kelly (Pakistan), Didace Kanyugu (Burundi), Sosena Lemma

(Ethiopia), Liam Herrick (Irish Penal Reform Trust)

Front row, left to right; Triona Pender (Malawi), Lizette Montoya (Honduras), Maria-Inesde Leon Mannion (Maynooth), Sandra Sierra (Guatemala), Mark Cumming (Maynooth),

Emer Butler (FLAC)

FLAC was delighted to welcome a group of governance and human rightsprogramme officers from Trócaire to its Dublin headquarters onWednesday 9 November.The group had gathered for a week-long global

meeting in Trocaire’s office in Maynooth and took the opportunity to meet withFLAC as well as the Irish Penal Reform Trust to discuss and share experiencesof working on access to justice issues. The discussion ranged from bondedlabour to access to the courts to the challenges faced by civil societyorganisations advocating for human rights.While the experiences were diverse,all were underpinned by a common commitment to equal access to justice.

Trócaire governance andhuman rights group

visits FLAC

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MMaakkiinngg aacccceessss ttoo jjuussttiiccee aa rreeaalliittyy obstacles for people who need toaccess justice – and virtually everyperson will have to encounter the legalsystem at some stage. If we are tovindicate the human rights of all peoplein Ireland, she stressed, we need toremove these barriers.

Baroness O'Loan made some starkobservations about the barriers facedby Irish citizens in accessing justice.While the legal system is daunting evenfor people of means, she said that itwas even more intimidating for peoplewith limited resources. Poor regulationof public spending on legal costs hasmeant that most of it goes towardsfunding endless tribunals, where SeniorCounsel is paid anything up to €2,500a day.There is little or nothing left overto subsidise legal support for theincreasing number of people ex-periencing financial hardship.

And demand for assistance from thestate in civil legal matters has indeedincreased substantially in the lastnumber of years, primarily becausemore people are passing the means testdue to loss of employment or reducedwages. Baroness O'Loan drew atten-tion to the growth in waiting lists forstate legal aid, with some people havingto wait as long as 11 months just to seea solicitor. The simple fact is that ifpeople cannot access even basic legaladvice and representation, they stand

little chance of successfully navigatingan increasingly complex legal systemand achieving a satisfactory resolutionof their problems. It is difficult to seehow the state Legal Aid Board canimprove its service, however, given itsinadequate funding and ever-increasingworkload.

On the other hand, Baroness O'Loanpraised the help provided by FLAC asan independent, non-governmenal legalrights body through its countrywidenetwork of advice centres and its first-stop legal information phone-line. Shenoted the mounting calls to FLACrelating to the trifecta of family law,employment law and debt law. Shepointed out that in order to ensurethat as many people as possible canaccess their legal rights, FLAC has hadto try to bridge the gap created by thestate's lack of funding and resources forits own legal aid services. In addition,she said, FLAC is assisting those peoplewho cannot meet the extremelynarrow criteria for state legal aid, butwho still cannot afford to engage aprivate solicitor.

She drew a link between the "humancost" of mounting legal problemsresulting from economic hardship, andthe rise in suicide rates. BaronessO'Loan suggested the state might takea different approach to cost-effectiveassistance for people in need ofassistance:

Continued from front page

Eoin Coffey, Saoirse Brady, Aisling McHugh, Jackie Heffernan, Niamh McEvilly,Lianne Murphy.

Catherine Ghent, Mary Ellen Ring SC, Sile Larkin,Baroness Nuala O'Loan

Kevin Clarke, Sandra Sierra, Hilary Daly, Mark Cumming

"One of thecrucial factorsin enablingaccess tojustice iscreatingsystems whichwill be robust,fair andinclusive andwhich will notlead to endlessTribunalappeals andcourt actions"

— Baroness O’Loan

"Would better information aboutlegal and welfare rights andobligations reduce problems anddisputes? Has enough been doneto try and ensure that the complexcommunication needs of somewelfare recipients are met? Arethere policies that you can onlycommunicate through writtencorrespondence? Are there helplines which actually work? Are theforms decipherable, compre-hensible? Is there additional ma-terial which would assist? Cangovernment be persuaded toprovide enhanced funding tofacilitate preventative work?"

In bureaucratic public structures likethe social welfare system, BaronessO'Loan also proposed that investing inbetter first-instance decisions couldwiden access to justice by reducing theneed for time-consuming, expensive-to-administer appeals. "One of thecrucial factors in enabling access tojustice is creating systems which will berobust, fair and inclusive and which willnot lead to endless Tribunal appeals andcourt actions," she said.

FLAC is very grateful to BaronessO'Loan for travelling to Dublin to givethe Dave Ellis Memorial Lecture for2011. The lecture was very warmlyreceived by the 250 attendees in theRotunda Hospital's palatial Pillar Room.



Baroness O'Loan with Sarah Flynn, wife of Dave Ellis

Eoin Coffey, Saoirse Brady, Aisling McHugh, Jackie Heffernan, Niamh McEvilly,Lianne Murphy.

Aideen Collard BL, Liz Mitrow, David Wheelahan BL,Michael Farrell.

q You can download the text of Baroness O'Loan's address at:http://bit.ly/nualatext

q Baroness Nuala O’Loan is a former Senior Law Lecturer in the University ofUlster. She served as the first NI Police Ombudsman from 2000 to 2007. Shehas been commended for her courage and independence, which made theNorthern Ireland Police Ombudsman a model for police complaints authori-ties in many other countries. Since then Baroness O’Loan was made the IrishGovernment’s Special Envoy for Conflict Resolution in Timor Leste, as well asthe Irish Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security. She has also become amember of the House of Lords. Former SDLP policing spokesman Alex Att-wood said of her: "From the time Nuala O'Loan took up the post of PolicingOmbudsman she was fearless and determined to tell the truth," he said.

q Dave Ellis was a community activist dedicated to working with local groups inareas like welfare rights, legal aid, legal education and legal entitlementsgenerally.The memorial lecture was first held following his death in 2007 andhas since gone from strength to strength, firmly establishing itself as one of thehigh points in the FLAC year. It has featured respected speakers such asProfessor Gerry Whyte of Trinity College Dublin, Steve Shapiro of theAmerican Civil Liberties Union,Dr Maurice Hayes and Michael Mansfield QC.

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CCoouurrtt rreeffuusseess aacccceessss ttoo aappppeeaallddeecciissiioonnss iinn ''JJaammaa'' ccaassee

AApppplliiccaattiioonnss aallssoo mmaaddee uunnddeerr FFOOII

In a disappointing decision, the HighCourt in October rejected anapplication by a FLAC client for

access to previous decisions of theSocial Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO)relevant to her case (Ikraan Jama v.Minister for Social Protection). Theapplicant, a refugee with two children,had sought a review by the ChiefAppeals Officer of a decision on herChild Benefit claim.

She had asked for copies of any previousdecisions that might have a bearing onher case and had relied on a SupremeCourt decision that had led to theRefugee Appeals Tribunal providingaccess to its previous decisions. She hadalso pointed out that in NorthernIreland and Britain social security

appeals decisions are available on theweb.

Surprisingly, for an appeals body whoserole is to help claimants to obtain theirrights, the SWAO strongly resisted theapplication. They said that until recentlythey had no database of their owndecisions and it would be too expensiveto search for relevant cases.They madeno alternative proposals to assist theapplicant.

The Court accepted the expenseargument and held that “in thesestraitened times” there was no duty onthe SWAO to maintain a database ofdecisions to which the public could haveaccess.

Form the point of view of claimants,

however, it is very difficult for them toknow their entitlements and argue forthem if they do not know how similarcases have been decided in the past andthe reasons given for those decisions.

Meanwhile, another FLAC client hassought copies of previous appealdecisions under the Freedom ofInformation Acts and has appealed arefusal to the Information Commis-sioner. In the meantime, the SWAO hasnow set up an internal database ofdecisions so there should no longer beany argument that it would be tooexpensive to search for such decisions.It is time the Appeals Office acceptedthat appellants are entitled to know thearguments for and against them and toconsistency in decision-making.

On 3 November 2011, the Irish Centrefor European Law (ICEL) hosted aseminar in Dublin on “Union Citizenshipin Practice: Its scope of application,impact on residence rights, socialsecurity entitlements, and immigrationprocedure”. The seminar was chairedby the Honourable Mr Justice GerardHogan and was well attended by legalpractitioners and community activists.

Much of the discussion at the seminarfocused on the recent developments inEU citizenship case law, particularly theseminal Ruiz Zambrano case, whichconcerned the rights of a family living inBelgium (the parents were Colombiancitizens and the children were Belgiancitizens) to remain in the State on thebasis of their children’s EU citizenshiprights. The application of the judgmenthas been the subject of much debate; forexample, Michael Lynn BL presented apaper at the seminar highlighting the Irishgovernment’s restrictive interpretationof the judgment. However, Dr SiofraO’Leary reassured seminar attendeesthat the principles emanating from thejudgment can be traced in case law on EUcitizenship over the last number of years.

Advocate General Eleanor SharpstonQC of the EU Court of Justice, whoauthored the Opinion in the Zambranocase, offered some blue sky thinking toattendees as a means of understandingthe complexity of recent case law. Shereflected on the origins of the conceptof citizenship and equated the statementin Zambrano about citizenship being a“fundamental status” to a statement inthe seminal EU law case of Van Gend enLoos that the EU represented a “newlegal order”.

Interestingly, in Zambrano the EU Courtof Justice held that Article 20 of theTreaty on the Functioning of theEuropean Union precludes nationalmeasures which have the effect ofdepriving Union citizens of the genuineenjoyment of the substance of the rightsconferred by virtue of the status. In amore recent decision in Dereci andOthers v Bundesminister fuer Inneres, theCourt reaffirmed this statement. It nowappears that the Court has given someleeway to the Member States to refusea third country national residencewhere their arguments for the rights ofresidence centre on convenience,

economic reasons and a wish to keepthe family together. However, MemberStates must examine the effect ofmeasures on family and private life,particularly where minor children are atquestion.

The effects of both the HabitualResidence Condition and the right toreside test on access to social securitywas also discussed in the context of EUcitizenship rights. Dr O’Leary notedthat States may stipulate eligibilityrequirements for a social welfarepayment, but it remains to be seenwhether such tests will be deemed toinfringe EU citizenship rights. This issueis currently being explored by theEuropean Commission, which hasissued a Reasoned Opinion on theapplication of the UK’s residence testfor certain social welfare paymentsunder UK legislation. This may haveimplications for Irish law; when thisissue was raised in the Dáil recently, theMinister for Social Protection ack-nowledged the lack of clarity and notedthat it may be necessary to examine anynecessary changes to Irish law in thatcontext.

EEuurrooppeeaann llaaww sseemmiinnaarr llooookkss aatt aacccceessss ttoo ssoocciiaall sseeccuurriittyy

In the first 9 months of 2011, FLAChas received 10,102 calls to itstelephone information and referral

line.This increase of 41% over the sameperiod last year highlights an increasingdemand for the service.

Family law queries remain the mostfrequent area of enquiry, accounting foralmost one-in-four calls, and higher by34% on the same period last year.Debt-related queries continue to rise, with1166 debt related calls in the first ninemonths of the year, compared with 680last year, which is a 71% increase. Debtis now the second most frequent queryto FLAC’s telephone information line,accounting for 11% of all calls.

Employment queries rose by 41%,whileconsumer law queries fell by 2%, theonly area of law to see a decrease in thenumber of calls.

In the first nine months of 2011 FLACreceived data collection forms withinformation on 9559 clients who visited67 centres around the country, whichtranslates as 19% more forms than thesame period last year. In total, 10,068queries were recorded.

Family law is again the most commonlegal query in the centres, accountingfor 31% of all queries, up 19% on sameperiod last year. Employment lawqueries are the second most frequent,making up 15% of all queries, and rose25% on same period the previous year.Credit and debt queries rose by 60%and are the third most common type ofquery.

Social welfare queries saw a 211% risein the first nine months of this year,from 80 appointments last year to 249this year. Queries relating toWills/Probate also rose by 100%compared with the same period lastyear.

Meanwhile, neighbour disputes, im-migration and client/solicitor mattersfell slightly compared with last year.Thecomplete figures for 2011 should be

available early in the New Year and areexpected to show queries well up on

last year in line with the trend so far.



CCoonnttiinnuueedd rriissee iinn ddeemmaanndd ffoorrFFLLAACC sseerrvviicceess

Minister for Social Protection JoanBurton announced at the end of Novem-ber that she intended to bring the headsof a Bill for legal recognition of trans-gender persons to the Cabinet in the firstquarter of 2012. She said her Depart-ment had been working on draft Headsof the Bill since the report of the GenderRecognition Advisory Group in July 2011.

FLAC made a detailed submission tothe Minister after the publication of the

report:(http://www.flac.ie/publications/fl a c s - subm i s s ion - to - the - gender-recognition-advisory-group/) and Trans-gender Equality Network Ireland (TENI)has been working on a draft TransgenderRecognition Bill.

We hope the Minister’s Bill will beintroduced before the 15th anniversaryof the beginning of Dr Lydia Foy’shistoric legal challenge on 14 April1997.

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A FLAC client in the asylum system,whois the mother of two Irish citizenchildren, was repeatedly refused ChildBenefit for her children on the basis thatshe did not satisfy the HabitualResidence Condition, thereby discri-minating against the children because oftheir mother’s status. FLAC representedher in a series of appeals.

The woman was recently given leave toremain and has now been paidsubstantial arrears of Child Benefitcovering most of the time that she wasin the asylum process.

Another woman was refused payment ofSupplementary Welfare Allowance, evenafter a successful appeal, until FLACassisted her in making a complaint to theOmbudsman. She was then paidsubstantial arrears but after thepayment, she was cut off again. FLACassisted her in a second successfulappeal but once again she was not paidwhat was due and it took severalmonths of correspondence by FLAC tofinally extract what was owed to her.Fortunately it came in time forChristmas!

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In December PILA regretfully saidfarewell to its Legal Officer Jo Kenny,who has taken a position with thePensions Board. Along with ProjectOfficer Lianne Murphy, Jo wasinstrumental in the creation of thePILA scheme as it now exists andcontinues to grow today and she willbe greatly missed by all in FLAC.

However, PILA is delighted towelcome Maeve Regan on board as itsnew Legal Officer. Maeve is a solicitor,lecturer and author with a specialismin employment and equality law.Maeve has been a member of PILAsince 2010 and has carried out workon a forced labour issue for a migrantrights NGO. Maeve trained with

Arthur Cox and upon qualificationworked with the Arthur CoxEmployment Law Group. Onsecondment from Arthur Cox, Maeveworked with Herbert Smith, Londonand in the international legaldepartment of Schering-Plough inNew Jersey. She is a consultant to theLaw Society’s Diploma in EmploymentLaw and is the course tutor on theLaw Society’s Certificate inEmployment Law Advocacy.

Maeve is the Editor and co-author ofEmployment Law (BloomsburyProfessional, 2009), which she co-authored with 22 leading employment,pension and tax lawyers. In 2011,Maeve worked as a solicitor with

Northside Community Law Centre,advising on employment and equalitylaw and social welfare law. Shecontinues to volunteer withNorthside.

FFaarreewweellll ttoo PPIILLAA OOffffiicceerr JJoo KKeennnnyy

Jo Kenny

PILA and its Belfast-based sisterproject the PILS Project held aEuropean Convention of HumanRights (ECHR) conference on 11November 2011. Entitled “PoliticalCommitment, Practical Protection:Using the ECHR North and South”,the conference was a huge successand attracted over 300 people.

Shami Chakrabarti was theconference’s keynote speaker, and herpresentation centred on the UK’sHuman Rights Act since its enactmentin 1998, and proposed changes to thelegislation currently being consideredin that jurisdiction. FLAC SeniorSolicitor Michael Farrell’s presentationconsidered the Lydia Foy case as anexample of how a Declaration ofIncompatibility with the ECHR can beused to protect the rights ofmarginalised communities. Northside

Community Law Centre ManagingSolicitor Colin Day spoke about usingthe ECHR from a community lawcentre’s perspective. Engaging andpractically-focused workshop sessionswere held in the afternoon on thethemes of children, housing, mentalhealth, prisoners and Travellers.

Attendees described the conferenceas "uplifting and inspiring… excellentvariety and quality of speakers… verypractical… thoroughly enjoyable andengaging… extremely worthwhile".

Many of the speakers’ presentations(and a video recording of ShamiChakrabarti’s presentation) areavailable at: www.pila.ie

PPIILLAA && PPIILLSS PPrroojjeecctt JJooiinntt AAnnnnuuaall CCoonnffeerreennccee

Shami Chakrabarti of Liberty

Michael Farrell speaking at the conference

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Q - As President of the American Bar Association,what is your role in relation to pro bono?A - We are celebrating and promoting pro bono work bylawyers and developing a plan to sustain and strengthencurrent pro bono programs in the United States.The ABA hasencouraged pro bono and volunteerism throughout its history.In our Model Rules of Professional Conduct, rule 6.1 suggestsevery lawyer has a professional responsibility to provide probono legal service to those unable to pay. To fulfill thisresponsibility, the ABA asks legal professionals to perform atleast 50 hours of pro bono legal services per year.

Indeed, lawyers are making a difference.There are more than1,200 organized pro bono programs in America. The ABA'scentre for Pro Bono is actively engaged to help these programsimprove and grow. Plus, more than 600 events around the U.S.during "Celebrate Pro Bono" week in October helpedthousands of people and highlighted the exceptional volunteerwork by lawyers.

Pro bono is an integral part of the legal services deliverysystem, and we have seen even more improvement in theseprograms over the last few years.Yet it's clear that many in thelegal community, like many Americans, are under increasingpressure from commitments to work and to family. So we arealso gathering ideas to create a new model for pro bono that isworkable, sustainable and achievable.

Q - What difference can pro bono make?A - Simply put, pro bono legal services ensure access to justice.Last month, the U.S. Census Bureau announced that thepercentage of Americans living below the poverty line last yearwas 15.1 percent – the highest level since 1993.

In America, 40 of 50 states cut funding for their judiciaries in2010 and legal aid groups were forced to turn away about halfof the people who came to them for help.

The problems of underfunded state judiciaries andunderfunded legal aid groups are clearly interconnected. Legalaid and court funding are two sides of the same "access tojustice coin." We should continue to educate the public andpolicymakers about why these budget cuts are so harmful, andwhy people have a right to timely and fair justice.

But frankly, there isn't a lot of extra money in governmentbank accounts these days.That is why lawyers' contributions inpro bono work can help fill the void left by budget cuts whilealso strengthening our justice system now and for the future.

Q - What personal benefit is there for the individuallawyer who becomes involved in pro bono work?A - Pro bono work helps individuals in need in ourcommunities. But it also helps lawyers be better lawyers.Welearn about fields outside our expertise.We develop new skillsand sharpen the ones we already have.We improve our ability

to manage projects efficiently and develop better clientrelationships.Then there are the skills we learn that can't bemeasured easily like leadership, judgment and empathy – thevery core of who we are as officers of the court.

Pro bono work reminds us why we wanted to become lawyersin the first place. And, as officers of the court, lawyers have aduty to uphold the most essential values of our profession.

Q - What benefits are there for law firms which putin place a structured pro bono programme?A - The ABA believes that providing opportunities for lawyersto perform pro bono service can help law firms reduceattrition. Many young lawyers enter the profession eager tomake a difference. They often become frustrated when theirpractice leaves them little opportunity to do pro bono work.We are encouraging America's law offices to enable lawyers tovolunteer their skills to those in need, as my own firm did forme, to help improve their communities and find greatersatisfaction in their legal careers.

Pro bono work provides lawyers with a sense of responsibility,autonomy and accomplishment. It also offers professional skillsdevelopment and client contact – opportunities that mayotherwise be unavailable in some large firms.

For smaller firms or solo practitioners, it's important todevelop partnerships with bar associations and legal servicesproviders that can provide the resources and support thatthey lack. A structured environment can help with pro bonoreferrals, client screening, training, mentoring, malpracticeinsurance, forms and materials, and other kinds of assistancethat is not otherwise available.

Q - What steps can a law firm take to encouragelawyers to do pro bono?A -There are a number of strategies that serve the interestsof America's law firms by providing lawyers withopportunities to enrich their professional lives while helpingthose in need. It's important to create a culture thatpromotes and rewards volunteerism.

Several states have developed ideas that have worked well.They include: counting pro bono hours as billable hours;setting goals regarding the number of hours contributedthrough firm pro bono programs and goals that increase thenumber of attorneys who participate; and establishing astructured, well-run program supported by firm manage-ment.

I believe that, for lawyers, volunteerism is in our professionalsouls. It's part of our DNA.And it may often be some of themost interesting, challenging and rewarding part of ourcareers. That's the message I hope law firms will use topromote volunteerism. Our responsibility is great, but thereward can be that much greater.

PPIILLAA ttaallkkss pprroo bboonnoo ttoo PPrreessiiddeenntt ooff AAmmeerriiccaannBBaarr AAssssoocciiaattiioonn WWiilllliiaamm ((BBiillll)) RRoobbiinnssoonn IIIIIIPILA was delighted to recently meet the President of the American Bar AssociationWilliam (Bill) Robinson III and to hear his inspiring views on pro bono and the legalprofession.



Iseult joined FLAC as a volunteerin the old North Earl Street officein 1985 while completing her

undergraduate degree in law fromTrinity College. She has stayedinvolved over the years with FLAC’swork, most notably becoming amember of FLAC's National Council(the organisation's Board) in 1990.

Iseult has a lot of fond memories ofher early involvement with FLAC, atime where the phone line had not yetbeen properly established.The sort ofqueries that were frequently askedback then related to issues such ascopyright, employment and family lawproblems. There were minimalamounts of queries on personal debtand mortgage arrears, a situationwhich has completely been reversedtoday.

Iseult’s role on FLAC Council has alsoevolved over the years as FLAC itselfhas grown and become a moreprofessional body. Twenty years agothe main function of the Council wasto raise funding in order to keepFLAC running and,whilst that is still animportant aspect of its role today, themain issues that the Council nowdeals with are in relation to policydecisions and staff management. Thebiggest achievement FLAC and theCouncil have achieved, she feels, is thisprofessionalization of the organisationand the streamlining of its focus oncertain policy areas, such as socialwelfare and personal debt reform.

On the work that FLAC does day-to-day, Iseult says that it is a “uniqueprofessional voluntary service, whichat the very least provides timely andimmediate basic information fromwhich to lead people in the rightdirection.” This is particularly vital in atime where people are queuing up forlegal representation at the Legal AidBoard and often for cases that mightnot eventually be taken or are delayed- by up to 11 months in some cases.

Even though the Legal Aid Board isdoing its upmost with the resources ithas been given, Iseult acknowledgesthat there are fears its service hasregressed to the early years of itsestablishment – with only the mostdesperate being able to obtain accessto justice.

Iseult believes that at this juncture inour legal systems development weneed to step back and assess whatexactly the role of the Legal Aid Boardshould be, for example whether itshould aim more to replicate a privatepractice model of providing legalservices or conversely aim to take amore public law approach. Iseult alsoworks with the Criminal Legal AidScheme as a Barrister and hasdescribed how despite an increase inworkload they have received a 17.5%cut in fees over the last few years.Thisis a situation which is unsustainableand, most worryingly of all, which isdiminishing the quality and access to

justice for those most in need.

With regards to Iseult’s futureaspirations for FLAC itself, shebelieves that, in particular during thistime of austerity, the focus needs toremain on the basic issues and tryingto achieve further progress in FLAC’skey areas of work. One difficulty infurthering the organisation's work anddisseminating its message is that thereis no permanent constituency ofpeople needing legal representationand thus a lot of people do not feelthe issues relate to them personally.This is something which FLAC is keento dispel, having seen first-hand howimportant legal advice and representa-tion is to people and how this need israpidly growing in our society.

FF OO CC UU SS OO NN FF LL AA CC ::

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Iseult O’Malley

CCoonnggrraattuullaattiioonnss ttooDDrr LLiiaamm TThhoorrnnttoonn

All at FLAC send their heartiestcongratulations to Dr LiamThornton on the completion ofhis PhD from University CollegeCork, entitled “Reception Con-ditions and Asylum in Ireland andthe United Kingdom: HumanRights and the Emergence ofControl”. Liam has been a valuedCouncil member for the last fewyears and we look forward toworking with him into the futureunder his new title.

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IInnssiiddee tthhee CCeennttrree:: FFLLAACC @@ DDuunnddaallkk CCIICCCC EE NN TT RR EE FF OO CC UU SS ::

The Dundalk Citizens Informa-tion Centre provides a com-prehensive and increasingly

busy service to the local community.Whether assisting with legal queriesthrough the Free Legal Advice Centrebased within the CIC, empoweringpeople through information on theirrights and entitlements or simplyhelping a caller to fill out a form. MarieHayes, the development manager ofDundalk CIC, summed up the im-portance of the work that is being doneon a daily basis, saying “people comeinto the office and leave knowing abouttheir rights and entitlements - if you canachieve that much, it is worth it alone.There is no value you can put onsomething like that.”

Marie has been working with theCitizen Information Centre for morethan eleven years and has been theDundalk centre's development managersince 2009. In that time, she has seendemand on the service increasesteadily; in 2010 Dundalk CIC had15,501 callers and 21,222 queries,whereas in 2008, there were 14,113callers and 14,911 queries. As withevery service, they could do with moreresources. The centre is currently runby a team of paid staff, CE staff andvolunteers, and Marie says that withoutthat combination they would simply notbe able to run the service - thevolunteers are crucial.“Everyone plays ahuge part whether they are providinginformation or part of the admini-strative staff, including filling out formsfor clients,” she notes.To celebrate thehard work of these volunteers and tomark the European Year of Volun-teering, the CIC is hosting an eveningwhere everyone will receive a present-ation, regardless of whether they havejust started or have been volunteeringfor thirty years.

Cases on which people are seekingadvice are increasingly complicated,says Marie.“This is part of our advocacyservice and it is often complex.We now

have queries we never would have dealtwith before.There is a quickly evolvinglandscape in employment law, forexample; up until 2010 many peoplewere being unfairly dismissed, whereasnow people cannot get theirredundancies from their employer.Legal issues in general, we [in the CICadvice service] refer onto the FLACvolunteer solicitor on a Tuesday night.Maybe that is why they are getting sobusy!”

FLAC operates a legal advice clinic inDundalk CIC every Tuesday eveningfrom 7pm to 8pm. Marie observes thatmost people want to know if they canget free legal aid for their query and ithas to be explained that unfortunatelythere is no such thing as free civil legalaid. It is important that legalinformation is timely and in simple basiclanguage.The FLAC service is thereforecrucial in providing early interventionand advice. Marie has seen theimportance of obtaining information atan early stage reinforced many timesover the years; “It still never ceases toamaze me that people are simply notaware of their entitlements and rightsand that nothing comes automatically.”

The legal system can be overwhelmingto someone who is not accustomed toit, which is where the work of FLAC’svolunteer solicitors and barristers in

network of centres is most valuable.James Egan has been a volunteer withFLAC for five years, the last two ofwhich in Dundalk CIC. James says “thebenefits of providing advice to peopleat the early stages is that they can bepointed in the right direction, forexample if they need to get a solicitoror if they can deal with the matterthemselves in the local district court,or even if they have a case to beginwith.” He has also noted higherdemand in recent years, there oftenbeing a queue of people waiting tospeak with one of the volunteersolicitors or barristers on a Tuesdayevening. “We need more youngsolicitors/barristers to bolster theservice – we definitely need morevolunteers here in Dundalk. It isgenerally only once a fortnight for afew hours so it is not too taxing onyour time, but you get an awful lot outof it and it means so much to people.”

The services provided by both the CICand FLAC volunteers in Dundalk arevaried and vital and will hopefullycontinue to thrive.

Dundalk FLAC is located in theDundalk CIC, 4 Adelphi Court, LongWalk, Dundalk, Co. Louth.

Pictured L-R: James Egan BL, Dundalk CIC Manager Marie Hayes, solicitors Peter Lavery,Caroline Bear and Conor McGuill, and FLAC Volunteer & Centres Manager Zsé Varga.

For a list of all FLAC centres see:

http://www.flac.ie/gethelp/



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MMiicchhaaeell FFaarrrreellll aappppooiinntteedd ttoorraacciissmm mmoonniittoorr

Congratulations are due toFLAC’s Senior SolicitorMichael Farrell on his new

role as the Irish member of theCouncil of Europe’s EuropeanCommission against Racism andIntolerance (ECRI). He was nominatedby Minister for Justice, Equality andDefence Alan Shatter to replace DrMazhar Bari, whose term expired inNovember 2011.

ECRI is composed of independentexperts from Council of EuropeMember States. It monitors problemsof racism, discrimination on groundsof ethnic origin, citizenship, colour,religion and language, as well asxenophobia, anti-semitism and in-tolerance. It also prepares reports andissues recommendations to MemberStates. FLAC wishes Michael all thebest in his work to aid thecommendable mandate of the body.

Separately, following the announce-ment of the planned merger of theEquality Authority and Irish HumanRights Commission, Michael was alsoappointed to a 10-person interimWorking Group to produce recom-mendations on a merged structure.That report should be out in early2012 and the new Human Rights andEquality Commission will beestablished by statute following theMinister's consideration.

TTrriibbuuttee ttoo LLoonnggffoorrdd vvoolluunntteeeerrby Connie Gerety, Longford CIC Manager

County Longford recently bid farewell to PadraicGearty, one of its most active community members,who was buried on Wednesday 5 October.

A successful and very well respected solicitor, Padraiccombined his legal expertise and influence with a strongdesire to improve the lives of others in offering legaladvice to many local social services over the years.

Padraic was a founding member of Co LongfordCitizens Information Service in 1981. He wasextremely dedicated to providing accurate informationto the public and believed very deeply that informationand access to one’s entitlements were most crucial toimproving people’s lives.

Furthering his vision for free access to information anduniting it with his legal background Padraic focusedattention on the establishment of FLAC in Longford in2002 and securing support for FLAC from the entireLongford Bar Association. He was a stalwart supporterof all that FLAC represents and his reputation as a realtrailblazer meant legal eagles around Longford tookexample from him on using their skills to facilitate accessto justice and equality for all and in particular those whocould least afford it through the FLAC service.

As a very well-liked, high profile figure in Longford andfurther afield, Padraic was influential and one could beassured that if he supported a cause, the cause was agood one. He will be missed by all who knew him.

q FLAC has made a submission around its concerns for a merged equalityand human rights infrastructure as did other member of the Equality andRights Alliance (ERA). Many of ERA members' submissions are availableto download on the ERA website (see www.eracampaign.org).

q Further information on the work of the ECRI can be found at:http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/ecri/default_en.asp

q FLAC's submission on the merged Human Rights and Equality Commis-sion is at: http://www.flac.ie/publications/submission-on-merger-of-ihrc-and-equality-authority/

In addition to the above assignments, on 6 January 2012 Michael was appointed by President Michael DHiggins as one of his seven nominees to the Council of State. This is a huge credit to Michael and a much-deserved recognition of his lifetime's work and dedication in the cause of justice. We in FLAC areextremely proud that our colleague has been singled out for this honour.

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Flac news winter 2011

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Transcript of Flac news winter 2011