FLAC STATISTICAL REPORT FOR YEAR 2004 I. Introduction FLAC is a human rights organisation that campaigns for access to justice for all and advocates for the promotion and protection of human rights including the right of access to justice. One of FLAC’s core principles is to ensure that disadvantaged people can effectively access legal services. To achieve those aims, it is essential for FLAC to have an accurate picture of its service provision and of the legal need of its callers. With the view of having uniform records and statistics of the overall work of its centres1, FLAC introduced the Data Collection Programme2 in January 2004. The information collated from FLAC’s network of centres has greatly assisted FLAC in its development and in its ongoing research and campaigning efforts to improve the provision of State civil legal aid in Ireland. II. Background FLAC was originally established to campaign for the introduction of a State-funded system of comprehensive civil legal aid. Following the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in Airey v. Ireland3, the Scheme of Civil Legal Aid and Advice was finally introduced in 1980 and the Legal Aid Board was established. The service was put on a statutory footing in 1995 with the enactment of the Civil Legal Aid Act. While FLAC welcomed the introduction of the civil legal aid scheme, significant gaps have remained in the provision of civil legal aid. “Civil legal aid and advice is not available to every person of insufficient means, given that many on very modest incomes fail to qualify,” concluded FLAC in its latest report Access to Justice: a Right or a Privilege?4 There is an urgent need for change and reform, and that is why FLAC continues to campaign for an adequate scheme that guarantees access to legal services for all. To begin with, FLAC considers that the scope in the provision of civil legal aid is narrow. Some areas of law are entirely excluded and in practice the legal aid service is almost exclusively a family law one. According to the Legal Aid Board Annual Report 20035, legal aid certificates entitling the applicant to legal advice and representation were granted to 4,460 persons in 2003. Of these, 4,379 were family law cases, with only 81 certificates granted in non-family law cases. At present, Legal Aid is not provided for representations at tribunals. Section 27 (2) (b) of the Civil Legal Aid Act, 1995 which allows for the scope of the legal aid scheme to be extended to tribunal representation has never been implemented. Effectively this means that people pursuing social welfare appeals or those appearing before the Employment Appeals Tribunal or Equality Tribunal are very often unable to secure legal representation where they are likely to be unable to afford a private solicitor. In addition, Section 28 (9)(a) of
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FLAC currently operates a network of 59 part-time legal advice centres which are serviced by volunteer legal advisors. For full list of FLAC’s network of centres see Appendix page 21 to 26. 2 The Data Collection Programme is funded by the Scheme to support Federations, Networks and Umbrella Bodies in the Community and Voluntary Sector. Co-ordinated by Marcela Rodríguez-Farrelly, Research and Development Officer with the assistance of an intern, the programme has been gradually launched at FLAC centres located in the Dublin and the greater Dublin area, as well as the Legal Advice Centres located outside the greater Dublin area. 3 Airey v Ireland [1979] 2 EHRR 305. 4
Access to Justice: a Right or a Privilege? , page 4 - FLAC, July 2005
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Legal Aid Board Annual Report 2003, page 52.
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