Flac news winter 2014

flacNewsI S S N 0 7 9 1 4 1 4 8 l V o L U M E 2 4 l N U M B E r 4 1 2 0 1 4

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

FLAC was honoured to have BryanStevenson give this year’s Dave EllisMemorial Lecture. Bryan is one of the

foremost public interest lawyers in theUnited States and is the founder andExecutive Director of the Equal JusticeInitiative. Described by ArchbishopDesmond Tutu as ‘America’s young Nelson

Mandela’, he has garnered internationalacclaim for his role in challenging bias againstpoor people and people of colour in the USjustice system.

In 1995 he founded and became executivedirector of the Equal Justice Initiative. Basedin the historically resonant town of Mont -

gomery, Alabama, EJI is a non-profitorganisation that provides legalrepresentation to such groups as juvenileoffenders, poor people denied effectiverepresentation or minority defendantswhose trials are marked by racial bias.

Proximity,narrative,

hopefulness,uncomfortable

things:Bryan Stevenson gives

8th Dave Ellis Memorial Lecture

C ontinued on page 8

Phot

o by

Der

ek S

peir

s

FLAC News WINTER 2014-15._FLAC05 vol15no4 13/01/2015 17:52 Page 1

FLAC’s work on highlighting the lackof legal protections for people usingfinancial services and for borrowers

in arrears has led to two appearancesbefore the Joint oireachtas Committee onFinance, Public Expenditure and reformthis quarter.

In November, FLAC Senior Policy AnalystPaul Joyce voiced concerns in relation tothe proposed introduction of a MortgageInsurance Scheme in Ireland. MortgageInsurance (as distinct from MortgageProtection Insurance) is taken out by thelender to protect against borrowerdefault. The Central Bank has proposedthat such a scheme could provide anexemption to the 80% Loan-to-Value limitit has recommended for residentialmortgages. If the lender could securemortgage insurance, this could cover someof the 20% deposit that would otherwisehave to be paid in full by the borrower.

Paul, who was speaking alongside creditindustry experts, voiced FLAC’s concernsthat the cost of mortgage insurance wouldinevitably be passed to the borrower,adding to the already considerable costs ofservicing a mortgage.

He pointed out that a similar scheme inCanada has helped boost constructionthere but has also inflated house prices byallowing people to buy homes who couldotherwise not afford them. He warnedthat the consequences in terms of houseprices, potential over-indebtedness andarrears must be borne in mind whendiscussing such a scheme.

In FLAC’s view a more holistic approach interms of housing policy was neededgenerally. In relation to the proposed loan-to-value and loan-to-income limits onmortgages, Paul advised a cautiousapproach to ensure that borrowers who

are in a strong financial situation can accesscredit whilst also ensuring that people donot borrow beyond their means.

In December Paul and FLAC DirectorGeneral Noeline Blackwell were invited tospeak to the same committee on the Con -sumer Protection (regulation of CreditServi cing Firms) Bill 2014, which aims toensure that consumers are protectedwhen loan books are sold by lenders toun reg ulated entities.

Paul highlighted problems with the currentconsumer protection codes in relation toborrowers which FLAC had set out in its‘redressing the Imbalance’ report earlierthis year. Even if unregulated entities weresubject to the current consumer pro -tection codes, he explained, this would notoffer consumers a sufficient level of pro -tection.

“What is required, therefore, is not onlylegally binding legislation on the status ofcredit acquisition companies, but also aregulatory regime and a Financial Servicesombudsman service that will vigilantlymonitor the companies in question anddeal with complaints in a decisive fashion,”he explained.

Noeline cautioned that, under the prop -osed legislation, the original lender wouldbe allowed to jettison any res ponsibilityfor the debt once a new entity has boughtit or has been brought in to manage it. Shequestioned the logic of such a proposal,asking why the original owner of the debtcould not be kept in the frame when itcomes to redress for the con sumer.

Paul added that it seemed extraordinarythat an owner of an agreement could beallowed to discard its responsibilitiesunder that agreement where a creditservice has been engaged to service theloan. He suggested that both the original

flac News | Vol. 24, No. 4

in this edition...Proximity, narrative, hopefulness,uncomfortable things: Bryan Stevenson gives 8th Dave Ellis Memorial Lecture 1, 8-9

Legal protections for borrowers infocus at oireachtas Committee 2-3

Under-resourcing of state Civil Legal Aid scheme a barrier to justice 3

‘Lydia’s Law’ breaks the mould forTrans community: Victory after 17-year legal battle 4

Government publishes Genderrecognition Bill 5

CCLrP launch second Interim report 5

Fairer Budget, Fairer Society:Making the case for a Human rightsapproach to budgeting 6-7

“our Voice, our rights” launched tohighlight economic, social and culturalrights in Ireland 10-11

PILA update:

PILA NGo Seminar 12PILA Legal Education Session 12PILA Pro Bono roundtable 12

Social Justice, Inequality & Economy:Three perspectives 13report on austerity in Greece revealsmultiple human rights violations 13

Focus on FLAC :FLAC Centre @ Wexford CIC 14

Focus on FLAC :Julie Herlihy, FLAC Council 15

New FLAC fundraising initiative 16IWLA Woman Lawyer of the Year 16Thomas Addis Emmet Fellowship 16

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

Edited by Laura o’Byrne & Yvonne Woods

Contributors: Noeline Blackwell, Michael Farrell, Gillian Kernan, Geraldine Murphy, Laura o’Byrne, Liz o’Malley, Yvonne o’Sullivan, rachel Power, Eamonn Tansey, Fionn Toland, Yvonne Woods.

Photos: FLAC, Derek Speirs

Layout & Printing: Printwell Design, D3

ISSN 07914148The views of individual contributors do notnecessarily represent the views of FLAC.

2 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 4

Legal protections for borrowersin focus at Oireachtas Committee

Mortgage arrears figuresreleased for second quarter of

2014



Under-resourcing of state Civil LegalAid scheme a barrier to justice


3F 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 4

A ccording to its 2013 Annualreport, the Legal Aid Board hasseen a 70% increase in

applications since 2006. In 2013 alonethere were 17,500 applications for civillegal aid, 708 of which were related toasylum cases. Yet funding only increasedby around 35% in the same period, withno increase since 2008. Staffing levels alsofell from 386 employees at the end of2010 to 368 at the end of 2013.

Even as far back as 2004, the Legal AidBoard was found to be unable to copewith its workload due to lack of resources.In O ’Donoghue v Legal A id Board, thecourt held that the plaintiff’s right toaccess to the courts had been infringed byhaving to wait 20 months for legal aid.

Many Legal Aid Board law centres haveyet to reach the suggested average waitingperiod of 2-4 months for the firstconsultation with a law centre. As ofSeptember 2014, the waiting times for afirst appointment were in excess of 4months in 19 out of 35 law centresnationally. Waiting times for a firstappointment can vary from 3 weeks inNenagh, Tipperary, to 57 weeks in CorkSouth.

In 2012 the Legal Aid Board introduced a‘triage’ system to reduce waiting times.This type of appointment is designed toallow people to address problems whilewaiting for legal aid by diverting them toother suitable services, such as anombudsman or mediation. There has beena large uptake in mediation for family lawdisputes, with the Family Mediation Servicemediating over 710 agreements in 2013and saving the state an estimated€200,000. However, gains from mediationseem to have been offset in other areas, asthe waiting times in September last yearare similar to those this year, and wereactually slightly higher.

An overwhelming 96% of legal aidcertificates issued in 2013 were related tofamily law, including areas like separationand divorce, access, custody andguardianship cases as well as other generalfamily law matters. In FLAC, by contrast,only around a third of queries received inlegal advice centres and via our informationline in 2013 related to family issues.

Pressure on the Board is also up due tothe rise in cases involving children beingtaken into care, with applications for civillegal aid in this area growing by 12% in2013. of the 486 childcare cases in 2013,almost 27% involved parents who werenot legally represented. of those withlegal representation, almost 80% werefrom the Legal Aid Board.

In a recent report, Director of the ChildCare Law reporting Project Carol

Coulter suggested that while someparents do not know that they might beable to access legal aid, “there may beparts of the country where the Legal AidBoard is very under-resourced and it isquite difficult to get representation”.

In September 2013, the Department ofJustice decided to raise funding to theLegal Aid Board by increasing theminimum contribution rates for the publicto €30 for legal advice and €130 for legalrepresentation. As a result, around €1.8mof the Legal Aid Board’s €33.59m fundingin 2013 came from upfront contributionsand the recovery of costs from legal aidclients who were awarded money orproperty as a result of their case. FLAChas accordingly encountered a number ofindividuals who say this contribution hasdeterred them from seeking civil legal aid.

While a person can apply for a waiver ofthe contribution, such waivers are notgranted very often. The Legal Aid Board“takes into account the circumstances ofall other applicants applying for civil legalaid”, meaning that the applicant must beworse off than the average legal aidapplicant, rather than looking at theirindividual level of hardship.

The Legal Aid Board report for 2013reflects a tremendous level of work doneby a state body in the face of under-funding, under-staffing and higher demand.However, the increasing cost of civil legalaid, long waiting times and low awarenessremain a barrier to accessing justice formany people who cannot afford privatelegal representation and cannot effectivelyrepresent themselves. FLAC will continueto campaign for the Board to be given thesupport and funding it requires so as totruly afford people in Ireland their right ofaccess to justice as and when they need it.

Legal Aid Board Numbers at a glance for 2013

• 22,300 – number of cases dealt with

• 17,500 – number of applications

• 17% - number of priorityapplications, relating to issues suchas domestic violence

• 5,600 – number of cases takenthrough the Legal Aid Board’sPrivate Practitioners Schemes

• 12% - increase in the number ofchildcare cases

• 96% - number of legal aidcertificates issued related to family law

• €33.59m - funding in 2013

lender and any credit servicer should be potentially the subject of any complaint to theFinancial Services ombudsman so that the borrower can obtain redress.

t FLAC’s presentation on the sale of loan books to unregulated third parties isat http://bit.ly/1wFCycx

t FLAC’s presentation on Mortgage Insurance is at http://bit.ly/1wFEtOo

t FLAC’s submission on the Central Bank’s proposed mortgage lendingrestrictions is at http://bit.ly/1wFCIRl

C ontinued from page 2


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 44


Victory was sweet for Lydia Foywhen her 17-year legal battleended in the High Court on 28th

october last. Lydia had first applied for abirth certificate in her female gender 21years ago in March 1993. Her struggleended when counsel for the stateannounced in court that the Governmentundertook to publish a Genderrecognition Bill before the end of 2014,to introduce it in the oireachtas by theend of January, and to get it enacted assoon as possible in 2015.

After her first legal case endedunsuccessfully in 2002, Lydia was badlytreated by sections of the media andjeered at in the street. This time round,she was stopped and congratulated bypassers-by and had an editorial welcomingher victory in the Ir ish Examiner .

But most importantly, Lydia has brokenthe mould and the legislation resultingfrom her case will end years of isolation,humiliation and fear for hundreds oftransgender person in Ireland as well asherself. And it will influence other statesas well. Thomas Hammarberg, formerEuropean Commissioner for Humanrights, commented: “[T]his has become aEuropean-wide symbol case – and... itmeans much for similar struggles in othercountries”.

FLAC has represented Lydia Foy since1996 and issued the first legal proceedingson her behalf seeking a new birthcertificate in April 1997. We have actedfor her ever since and are not quitefinished yet. Lydia’s case was not struckout when the settlement was announcedin october. It was adjourned until 29January 2015, with an option to resumethe proceedings if sufficient progress hasnot been made by then.

We hope that will not be necessary.

Lydia Foy’s case has also had a widersignificance for human rights in Ireland. Itwas the first case in which the High Courtmade a declaration under the EuropeanConvention on Human rights (ECHr)Act, 2003 that a provision of Irish law was

incompatible withthe Convention.That was the onlyremedy availablewhen challenging adecision by a Statebody that wasallowed by Irishlaw. But thedeclaration did notchange the law. Itsimply left it up tothe oireachtas todo so.

This procedure wasmodelled on aprovision in the UKHuman rights Actand the UKgovernment hadchanged the law inalmost every casewhere a declarationhad been made. The Irish Government, bycontrast, failed to change the law forseven years after the declaration had beenmade in Lydia’s case. It looked as if thisnew procedure was completelyineffective.

Lydia was forced to issue newproceedings in January 2013 to try to getthe Government to act upon thedeclaration. It is those proceedings thatwere settled in october and so thedeclaration of incompatibility has led tochange at last. And a second declaration,concerning the right to an independentappeal against local authority evictions forsupposed anti-social behaviour, has justbeen implemented as well.

So the Foy case has shown thatdeclarations of incompatibility can changethe law. But it has also highlighted that theECHr Act badly needs to be amended tocreate an obligation on government torespond to such declarations if they are toconstitute an effective remedy for breachesof the Convention on Human rights.

Lydia Foy’s case also tested another,related, section of the ECHr Act that had

not been used before. Lydia applied forcompensation for the violation of herrights under the ECHr. Nothing couldadequately compensate her for thedecades of pain and suffering she hadendured but the award that was made toher was more substantial than the verysmall amounts the Strasbourg Court oftenawards.

The procedure for deciding on theappropriate amount of compensationunder the Act was anything but open andtransparent and is also badly in need ofreform, but once again a hitherto unusedsection of the ECHr Act has been got towork at last while its inherent flaws havealso been exposed.

Much remains to be done. There are realand serious concerns about the drafts ofthe Gender recognition Bill that havebeen seen so far. They do not makeadequate provision for young Transpersons and would require alreadymarried Trans persons to divorce as apre-condition for the legal recognition ofthe Trans partner. And the ECHr Actneeds major overhaul to make it fit forpurpose. But Lydia Foy has shown the way.

‘Lydia’s Law’ breaks the mould forTrans community:

Victory after 17-year legal battle

Dr Lydia Foy w ith FLAC Senior So licito r Michael Farrell




Government publishesGender Recognition Bill

Some seven years after the HighCourt held the failure to recognisetransgender persons in Ireland was

in breach of the European Convention onHuman rights (ECHr) and 21 years afterDr Lydia Foy had first requested a newbirth certificate in her female gender, theIrish Government has finally published aGender recognition Bill.

FLAC, which acted for Ms Foy throughouther lengthy legal battle, now awaits theintroduction of the Bill in the oireachtas.Under the terms of the settlement of legalproceedings taken by Dr Lydia Foy,represented by FLAC, this must happenbefore the end of January 2015. TheGovernment has committed to getting theBill passed into law as soon as possible.

Commenting on the development, FLACSenior Solicitor Michael Farrell, whorepresented Ms Foy in her case, said “ThisBill is a hugely important step in ending theshame of the state’s treatment of Transpersons for so many years. That shamehas been all the greater since 2002, whenthe European Court of Human rightsstated very clearly that Trans persons hada right under the Convention to have theirpreferred gender legally recognised by thestate.”

Currently Ireland is the only state in theEuropean Union with no provision at allfor recognising Trans persons in theirpreferred gender. Dr Lydia Foy, whose17-year legal case led to theGovernment’s adoption of the Bill, said: “Iam delighted that I and hundreds of otherTrans persons will shortly be able to getbirth certificates showing the gender thatwe live in every day.

“It has been a hard and lonely struggle andthere were times when I felt near todespair”, said Dr Foy. “But it will havebeen worth all the pain when this Bill issigned into law and Trans persons will berecognised just as persons like everyoneelse”.

The publication of the Bill was also a longoverdue move by the Government torespect and carry out its obligation toobserve and implement the EuropeanConvention on Human rights and its duty

to take action when the courts make adeclaration that its policies or actions arein breach of the Convention. The failureto bring in gender recognition legislationfollowing the High Court decision in theFoy case showed disrespect by successivegovernments for the ECHr and for theIrish legislation introduced ten years ago toincorporate the Convention into Irish law.

FLAC also noted that there were stillproblems with some sections of theproposed law. “We regret that the Bill isnot as generous or inclusive as it mighthave been and that it will require Transpersons who are already married todivorce their spouses as a precondition tolegal recognition. This is almost certain togive rise to a new legal challenge and willappear unnecessary if the referendum onsame-sex marriage is passed early in2015,” added Mr Farrell.

The Bill also fails to make provision foryoung persons under 16, who areparticularly vulnerable to bullying and

harassment at a very sensitive period intheir lives. FLAC suggested that it shouldbe amended to require respect andsupport for young Trans persons,especially those still at school.

Although the Bill will not require Transpersons to undergo surgery or otherinvasive treatment, it still places an undueemphasis on certification by medicalpractitioners for Trans persons who wantto secure recognition in their preferred ortrue gender.

FLAC is hopeful that the Government willbe able to draft or accept amendmentsabout these issues as the Bill proceedsthrough the oireachtas. “This is a majorstep out of the shadows for Trans peoplein Ireland. We would just urge theGovernment that having travelled a longway along the road to equality for Transpeople, they should take the last few stepstowards full inclusion of this vulnerableminority,” concluded Mr Farrell.

CCLrP launch second Interim report

The Child Care Law re -port ing Project laun ch edits second Inte rim re -port on 28 october2014. Launching the re -port, President of theDistrict Court Judgerosemary Horgan prais -ed the ongoing work ofthe Project in throwinglight on the issuesinvolved in cases wherechildren are taken intocare. The report analysesstatistics on 486 cases allover Ireland betweenSeptember 2013 and July2014. These involved 864 children, which represents just over 20 per cent of allchildren in court-ordered care. Project Director Dr Carol Coulter said the reportunderlines the need for early identification of and supports to families, as well aschanges in how the courts handle child care matters read the full report atwww.childlawproject.ie.

L-R: Judge Rosemary Horgan and C C LR Pro ject Director ,Dr C aro l C oulter in discussion at the launch o f the

pro ject’s Second Inter im Report.




O ver two days in the Dáil, on 25and 26 November, DeputyMaureen o’Sullivan put

forward a Private Members Motionproposing that the state adopt a humanrights approach to budgeting. Theproposals garnered substantial support forcertain aspects of applying a human rightsframework to national budgeting.

Deputy o’Sullivan acknowledged thework of a number of organisations asinspiring her championing of thisapproach, including FLAC. She hadattended a seminar organised by FLAC on16 october 2014, two days after thebudget, along with a host of civil societyorganisations and other electedrepresentatives.

The seminar was opened by FLACDirector General Noeline Blackwell whointroduced the line-up of speakers oneconomic, social and cultural rights andexpanded on the concept of a humanrights approach to budgeting. Dr Johnreynolds, Lecturer of Law at NUIMaynooth, then addressed the seminarhighlighting the legal commitments bindingon the State under the InternationalCovenant on Economic, Social andCultural rights even in times of recession.He expanded on the principle of“progressive realisation” referring to thework of different human rights bodies inexplaining what this term meant inpractice. He drew a link between resourceallocations and economic, social andcultural rights and the importance thatbudgeting plays in protecting basic humanrights. Dr reynolds also noted that inorder for a State to roll back on progressmade in terms of socio-economic rights, itmust provide a detailed “burden of proof”to ensure that Covenant obligations arenot undermined.

June Tinsley of children’s rights charityBarnardos spoke on how their pre-budgetwork relies on a human rights law

framework to ensure the rights of thechild are considered in all policy changesflowing from the budget. AlthoughBarnardos publicly welcomed Budget 2015and the positive measures introduced thatwill benefit families with children there arestill problems persisting in terms of childpoverty. Families are at an ever increasingrisk of homelessness due to the range ofcuts imposed by the government in areasof social protection and housing. Junehighlighted how a human rights approachto budgeting could have prevented theseverity of cuts and impacts experiencedby the most vulnerable in our society dueto the previous austerity budgets.

róisín Hennessey, representing the IrishHuman rights and Equality Commission(IHrEC), spoke about the role of the new

Commission in monitoring and providingexpertise to public bodies on economic,social and cultural rights. roisin explainedthat National Human rights Institutions(NHrIs) have the remit to provideeducational programmes and raiseawareness of economic, social and culturalrights not just for the public but also thepublic service, judiciary and private sector.A new public sector duty is also now inplace which means that all pubic bodiesmust have regard to human rights andequality. IHrEC can provide human rightsbenchmarks which can be utilised by thegovernment to monitor their progress onsuch rights. To date IHrEC have voicedtheir concerns over previous austeritybudgets and their impact on human rights.

The final presentation came from Michael

Fairer Budget, Fairer Society:Making the case for a Human Rights

approach to budgeting

L-R: Speakers at the seminar Dr John Reyno lds (NUI Maynooth), Noeline Blackwell (FLAC ),June T insley (Barnardos), Ró isín Hennessey (IHREC ) and Michael Taft (Unite).

L-R: Deputies Maureen O ’Sullivan and Thomas Pr ingle w ith Sr Bernadette McMahon o f theVincentian Partnership fo r Social Justice in the background.


t



Taft of Unite the Union. He focused on thedirect link that exists between economicprogress and social justice, such that onecannot be secured without the other. In hisview, Budget 2015 was “regressive” innature and did not do enough to tackle thesocietal challenges we face now regardingeconomic, social and cultural rights. Socialre-distribution is necessary to achieve anequal society but it has been proven to alsoresult in a higher economic output. Thegovernment must have a greater sense ofsocial solidarity versus individualism to

address the in equalities that exist. Michaelargued that economics does not have to beat odds with social justice and need notoppose the basic right to live in dignity,which is the corner stone of human rightslaw.

As part of the event, participatingorganisations had been asked to completea survey on their views of budgetaryproposals shortly after Budget 2015 waspublished. Some thirty-eight organisationscompleted the survey, which was then

analysed and presented after the speakersconcluded their presentations. The quest -ions were focusing on how specific rightswere accommodated in the budget, was itadequate enough to protect the mostvulnerable in society and how therecession affected the lives of the peoplethe organisations represented.

Two-thirds of organisations surveyed saidthat human rights were “downgraded” inthe recession and the overall view onBudget 2015 was that proposals on childbenefit and for low income families couldnot offset the introduction of water chargesor reverse the huge problems that austeritybudgets had created in terms ofhomelessness, lack of access to justice,backlogs and waiting lists for health services,social protection and legal aid for example.

The majority of organisations and electedrepresentatives at the seminar supportedthe call for a human rights approach tobudgeting, through comprehensive impactanalysis across all government depart -ments, greater consultation with thepublic, the voluntary sector and within theoireachtas, and transparency within thework of the Economic ManagementCouncil. There were a plethora ofinterventions from the floor, voicingspecific rights issues and concerns andputting forward suggestions to strengthenrights within the sector.

While Deputy o’Sullivan’s motion wasultimately defeated through governmentamendment, it was very encouraging tosee human rights budgeting being debatedin the Dáil with such passion on all sides ofthe House – with Government Deputiesacknowledging the important of humanrights and that there was a need for impactassessment. We hope this can build on thegrowing awareness of how this alternativeapproach can enhance the budgeting pro -cess and see positive change in 2015.

t You can read a report from thisevent at http://bit.ly/Hrbudget2015

t The debate on Private MembersMotion on human rights Budgeting isonline at http://bit.ly/PMMhrb14

An appreciative audience at the pre-budget seminar applaud the speakers. Middle left: Dr Shari McDaid, o f Mental Health Reform; and middle r ight: Jim Winters, o f Inclusion Ireland.


8



While Stevenson is widely known for hislandmark cases against capital punishment,particularly children on death row, hiswork as an anti-poverty advocate in thelegal system is vitally important to him.Stevenson has said of his work with EJIthat “all of the clients who are not peopleof colour are poor, and marginalized bypoverty.” He regularly speaks about howpoverty affects the way the people aretreated within the judicial system,marginalising and alienating them fromequal access to justice, famously statingthat very often “the opposite of poverty isjustice”.

“I tell people our system treats you betterif you’re rich and guilty than if you’re poorand innocent, and we see that every day,”he has commented. Alabama remains oneof the few states in America that does nothave a state-wide public defender system.recently Stevenson has also noted anincrease in hostility towards the plight ofeconomically disadvantaged people thatthreatens to undermine the equaladministration of justice. He has said that,for him, “equal justice is aboutcommitment and vigilance and engagementto ensure that fairness and equaltreatment are manifest in the day-to-daylives of people.”

Bryan addressed a packed Pillar room inthe rotunda on Monday night, 1 Decem ber.He gave an inspiring speech to an audiencethat included many lawyers who volunteerwith FLAC and PILA as well as those activewith other bodies promoting access tojustice and colleagues, supporters andfriends. In his lecture, which lasted justunder an hour, Bryan focused on fourpillars or dynamics that underpin using lawfor social change:

t proximity, or the need to work, tolisten and to be close to sites ofinjustice and to the people who aresuffering that injustice so as to moreeffectively tackle it;

t changing the narrative, so that indescribing and addressing an issue thefocus is shifted to a fairer perspectivethat does not blame or negativelytarget the disfavoured person butrather respects the rights of all;

t hopefulness, which is needed in orderto keep going through the hardertimes when it seems like it’s notworth it. He argued that ‘injusticeprevails where hopelessness persists’and that remaining hopeful was a way

to redraw positions and be an activewitness;

t and finally, the need to douncomfortable things – to take onissues and work that lie outside our‘comfort zone’ and push us to newrealisations and fresh action.

Bryan spoke of his pleasure at meetingFLAC and other community law activists

while in Dublin, and his talk was pepperedwith fascinating anecdotes from through -out his life, from a child growing up in apoor community in Delaware to his timeas a law student to his experienceworking with incarcerated individuals,many of whom had intellectual disabilitiesor were extremely disadvantaged withaddictions, poor education and traumaticfamily backgrounds. He talked about the

Continued from front page

Proximity, narrative, hopefulness, uncomfortable things

L-R: Noeline Blackwell (FLAC Director G eneral), Peter Ward SC (FLAC C hair), BryanStevenson, Joanne Hyde (FLAC C ouncil member)

FLAC staff, chair and interns w ith Bryan Stevenson

Bryan Stevenson received a standing ovation at the lecture

Bryan Stevenson meets Sarah Flynn, partner o f the late Dave Ellis, w ith Noeline Blackwell




history of the US as a society which hasnot fully addressed entrenched inequalityand discrimination.

He also talked about Ireland as being thekind of place where we should have fullequality and where we are tantalisinglyclose to that ideal. He encouraged peopleto realise that the difficult and oftenuncomfortable work in social justicemeant that the activist working with‘broken’ people also becomes ‘broken’ butthat “there is something empowering inrecognising our humanity which is rootedin our vulnerability: our brokenness.” Thebottom line was that we need to standwith those who are disfavoured anddowntrodden and that it was not just aquestion of ‘throwing money at theproblem’, but of truly addressing thestructures that uphold society:

I am persuaded that the opposite ofpoverty is not wealth; I am persuadedthat the opposite of poverty is justiceand when people commit themselvesto just relationships, just structures,just treatment, then and only then canwe deconstruct the systems andreality of sustained poverty.

Bryan concluded the talk by thanking allthose present for taking the time to listen

and with a template for assessing oursociety:

You judge a society and itscommitment to a rule of law not byhow it treats the affluent, but by howit treats the poor, the incarcerated,

the disfavoured. It’s in that contextthat we find who we are andrecognise what we must do toactually make justice live.

t For an interview with Bryan by PatKenny on Newstalk: bit.ly/1vIcJaa

The late Dave Ellis was a community activist who dedicated his career toworking with community groups on issues including welfare rights, legal aid,legal education and legal entitlements generally. He was Community LawOfficer for more than 20 years at Coolock Community Law Centre (nowCLM Northside), established by FLAC in 1975 as the first of its kind in Ireland.Dave subsequently established Community Legal Resource to provideinformation, training and support for the non-profit and community sector.He died in 2007.

Proximity, narrative, hopefulness, uncomfortable things

Dave Ellis Memorial Lecture

Bryan Stevenson

Bryan Stevenson meets Sarah Flynn, partner o f the late Dave Ellis, w ith Noeline Blackwell

Peter Ward SC , Judge Rosemary Horgan (President o f the Distr ict C ourt), Bryan Stevenson,Bryan Kearney-G rieves (A tlantic Philanthropies) & Noeline Blackwell

Thomas A ddis Emmett Fellow Eamonn Maguire (far L) w ith his family at the lecture

A section o f the audience at the Dave Ellis Memorial Lecture


A s reported in the last FLA CNews, FLAC has coordinated aparallel report in response to

Ireland’s Third report under theInternational Covenant on Economic,Social and Cultural rights (ICESCr), aspart of the United Nations reportingprocess on economic, social and culturalrights. The report was submitted to theUN for the 1 october deadline.

FLAC formally launched Our Vo ice, O urRights, on 19 November 2014 in Dublin’sMansion House by kind permission of theLord Mayor Christy Burke. The launch waschaired by Professor Gerry Whyte ofTrinity College Dublin Law School, whoalso led the report’s advisory group ofacademic and civil society experts in thefield of economic, social and cultural rights.

Ireland has not reported to the Com -mittee on Economic, Social and Culturalrights for 12 years, a time spanning themost recent economic high and low pointsin Ireland’s history. Our Vo ice, O ur Rightsreflects the experiences of people’s abilityto enjoy their economic, social andcultural rights gathered through consult -ations with wider Irish civil society. Morethan 50 individuals and organisations allover Ireland contributed to the reportwith so far 25 endorsing it.

At the launch Senators, TDs, representa -tives of civil society bodies and tradeunions voiced support for the report. onthe platform, representatives from fiveleading Irish organisations which hadcontributed to the report spoke about theimportance of using the Covenant as a wayto promote economic, social and culturalrights, using case studies to illustrate theirparticular focus. Bríd o’Brien, Head ofPolicy & Media, with the Irish Nationalorganisation of the Unemployed spoke onarticle 6 of the Covenant, the right towork. Bríd emphasised the two com -ponents of the right, the right to gain a

living by work and the right to training andeducation.

Moya de Paor, solicitor at Community Law& Mediation, spoke on article 9, the rightto social security. She mentioned that oneof the most worrying problems for peopleat the moment is the recovery ofoverpayments, whether they occurred dueto a mistake on the part of the individual,the department, or due to fraud. Moyanoted that the recovery of overpaymentsshould not force people to live below thepoverty line and should conform to fairprocedures. As the Social Welfare Ap -peals office is a tribunal, social welfareclaimants are not entitled to civil legal aid.People are often then left unrepresented,defending themselves in a system they areunfamiliar with and without the legalknowledge necessary to challenge thedecision of the Department of SocialProtection.

Clíona Loughnane, Policy & researchManager with the Irish Heart Foundation,provided insights on article 13, the right to

health, noting that the right specifies the‘highest realisable’ standard of health.Clíona highlighted the current inadequacyof rehabilitation services in Ireland. For aperson who has suffered a stroke, a lack ofrehabilitation means severe disability andthe possibility of having to go to a carehome in the place of going home. A surveycarried out by the Irish Heart Foundationfound that 50% of people in Ireland couldnot get speech or language therapy and athird could not get physiotherapy.Whether a person can access rehab ilita -tive services is determined by agerestrictions and where a person lives. Ifyou are in a care home you cannot accessservices. All this evidence indicates thatIreland is falling far short of the minimumstandards for health protected underICESCr.

Mike Allen, Director of Advocacy forFocus Ireland, expanded on article 11, theright to housing, in the homelessnesscontext. He cited the lack of legalprotection for the right to housing indomestic law and contrasted it with theconstitutional right to property. The rightto housing affects a range of housingissues including housing tenure, owneroccupiers and social housing. Asrepossession numbers rise, so too Mikebelieves will homelessness. Inadequacy ofhousing supply and substandard quality ofavailable stock are some of the obstaclesfacing families and others in need ofaccommodation in Ireland today. Where arented house is taken into receivership,the receiver is paid the rent but does nothave the obligations of a landlord, thusundermining a tenant’s rights. Theshortcomings of rent supplement renderdozens more families homeless, forty-fivefamilies became homeless in Dublin inoctober 2014.



“Our Voice, Our Rights” launched to highlighteconomic, social and cultural rights in Ireland

L-R: Noeline Blackwell, Pro f G erry Whyte, C liona Loughnane, Moya De Paor, Br id O ’Brien, Mike A llen and Eleanor Philips

L-R: Report Pro ject Team Lead Sao irse Brady(C hildren's Rights A lliance) w ith A lice-Mary

Higgins (National Women's C ouncil)



t


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

Landlord and Tenant calls continue to rise on FLAC info line

Calls to FLAC’s telephoneinformation and referral linerose by almost two per cent

during the first three quarters on 2014compared with the first three quartersof the previous year. July and Septemberwere particularly busy months for callsthis year.

Family law queries remain the mostcommon area of law discussed on thephone line, as well as in the centres, withdivorce/separation the most frequentfamily law query. Housing/landlord andtenant calls have seen the large increase(by 67 per cent) and have now replaceddebt related calls as the second mostoccurring call, with over two thirds ofthese callers looking for help with alandlord-tenant issue. Compared with thefirst three quarters of 2012. Credit anddebt calls fell by almost a quarter in thesame period.

The number of people reported asattending the FLAC centres is down slightlycompared with the same period last year.As a result queries in most areas of law aredown, but housing/landlord and tenantqueries, consumer queries and neigh bourdispute queries showed rising trends.

Family law queries continue to be themost common topic discussed in FLACcentres, with almost half (48.7 per cent) ofthese queries in relation to a divorce orseparation. Employment law queries, whiledown slightly, are the second mostcommon query in the centres, with almostone third of employment queriesconcerned with terms of contract. Creditand debt queries have also fallen in thecentres, with the number of callersreporting mortgage arrears down by 9per cent.

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Discri

mina

tion

Comp

any

Immi

gratio

n/refu

gee

Neigh

bour

dispu

tesCo

ntract

Socia

l Welf

areOth

erNe

glige

nce/Pe

rsona

l Injur

yCli

ent/S

olicit

or iss

ues

Prope

rty/In

terest

in La

ndCo

nsume

rLeg

al Aid

Crimi

nal

Will/P

robateCiv

ilEm

ploym

ent

Credit

& De

btLeg

al Se

rvices

Housi

ng/La

ndlor

d & Te

nant

Family

FLAC Telephone Information & Referral Line

Jan-Sept 2013

Jan-Sept 2014

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

Clien

t-Soli

citor

issue

s

Neigh

bour

dispu

tes

Socia

l Welf

are

Other

Immi

gratio

n/refu

gee

Negli

gence

/Perso

nal In

jury

Crimi

nal

Prope

rty/In

terest

in La

nd

Consu

mer

Housi

ng/La

ndlor

d & Te

nant

Will/P

robate

Credit

& De

bt

Emplo

ymen

t

Family

FLAC Centres Telephone Information & Referral Line

Jan-Sept 2013

Jan-Sept 2014

11

Finally, Eleanor Philips spoke on behalf ofcultural rights organisation Blue Drumconcerning article 15, the right to culturallife. Culture is a broad concept, Eleanorstated, which allows for different socialgroups to express themselves. As anexample, she talked about the Dublinneighbourhoods of rialto and Fatimawhich found their voices through the arts.Culture within communities needs to beresourced such that the community candirectly express and enjoy its right to acultural life, not mediated by someoneelse. Last year €250m was spent on arts

projects but there was a lack of access forthe most disadvantaged people to enjoythe arts. The Parliamentary oireachtasCommittee also argued that disadvantagedgroups do not take part in cultural life.Eleanor made the point that whilegovernments in other EU countries andthe US focus on social outreach, Irelandhas chosen to continue to ignore thisapproach and overlook the cultural rightsof our most marginalised communities.

Questions were raised from the flooraround different areas in the report

including mental health and DirectProvision. FLAC’s Noeline Blackwell madethe point that this report is only the startof the process which will come to a headin June 2015 when the Irish governmentwill be examined by the U.N. Committee.

t You can download Our Vo ice, O urRights from the FLAC website athttp://bit.ly/oVor2014

t See www.ourvoiceourrights.ie formore updates and resources.


C ontinued from page 10



On 30 october PILA hosted anNGo seminar entitled ‘Fair PlayFor Whistleblowers?’. The

seminar was delivered by Susheela Math,Legal Counsellor for TransparencyInternational Ireland (TII), one of PILA’smany partner NGos. TransparencyInternational Ireland is the Irish chapter ofthe worldwide movement againstcorruption (defined as the abuse of

entrusted power for private gain).

The seminar was attended byrepresentatives of PILA partner NGosworking across a range of policy areas. Itfocused on the newly enacted ProtectedDisclosures Act 2014. The Act came intoforce in July of this year and for the firsttime provides protection for all workers inall sectors of the Irish economy.

Those in attendance were given anintroduction to the main features of theAct including; a prohibition on thepenalisation of workers who make a‘protected disclosure’ of wrongdoing; awide definition of worker; a broad range of‘wrongdoings’ which may be reported; anda stepped disclosure system whichencourages workers to report toemployers in the first instance.

PUBLIC INTEREST LAW ALLIANCEU P D A T E


PILA NGO Seminar: Fair Play for Whistleblowers?

On 4 November, PILA held a legaleducation session on the topic ofhuman rights and persons in

institutional care. The session wasattended by peer advocates from the IrishAdvocacy Network (IAN). The IAN offerspeer advocacy services to people ininstitutional settings throughout the islandof Ireland. IAN peer advocates are peoplewho have experienced mental healthdifficulties and having achieved a sufficientlevel of recovery, complete an accreditedtraining course.

The legal education session was deliveredby Teresa Blake SC. Teresa is a member

of the PILA pro bono register and hasconsiderable experience in childprotection and welfare law, asylum andimmigration law, and mental health law.Teresa is also a Chairperson of the MentalHealth tribunal.

Those in attendance were introduced tothe legal parameters of human rights andpersons in institutional care. This includedthe constitutional rights to bodilyintegrity; statutory rights and safeguardsunder Irish law and the duty of care owedto persons in institutional care. In whatwas an interactive session, those inattendance explored the Mental Health

Act, the Criminal Law Insanity Act and thelong awaited Assisted Decision Making(Capacity) Bill.

Following the session, Una Kinane of theIAN remarked that the peer advocateshad “enjoyed the session and derivedmuch learning from it. It was lively andextremely engaging leaving us with muchto ponder. We would hope that we couldparticipate in similar events in the future.”

In 2015 PILA hopes to facilitate and delivermore legal education sessions for ourNGo partners.

PILA Legal Education Session: Human Rights and Persons in Institutional Care

In october, PILA held a Pro Bonoroundtable bringing together itspartner law firms to discuss how they

are using pro bono work to promotepublic interest law and access to justice,and explore how a culture of pro bonocan be developed into the future.

The roundtable was facilitated by PaulNewdick – former partner with Clyde &Co and Chairman of LawWorks, who hasreceived a CBE and was appointedhonorary Q.C. for his pro bono leadershipin the UK – and hosted by Arthur Cox.

PILA Pro BonoRoundtable

(L-r): Noreen Maguire (Maguire Muldoon), rebecca Keatinge (Brophy Solicitors), orla Hubbard (Brophy Solicitors), Matthew Kenny (Sheehan & Co), Diego Gallagher(Byrne Wallace), Geoff Moore (Arthur Cox), Niall Michel (Mason Hayes & Curran), Aine Flynn (KoD Lyons), Aisling Byrne (Eversheds), Adam Synnott (William Fry), Elaine Nerney (Hewlett-Packard), Paul Newdick (LawWorks), Eithne Lynch (PILA),Sinead Smith (A&L Goodbody), Eamonn Conlon (A&L Goodbody)


t



The past months featured a numberof events in Dublin focusing on theconsequences of inequality and

possible actions.

In June, Associate Chair at the Paris Schoolof Economics Thomas Piketty tolddelegates at a conference organised byTASC that a progressive wealth tax isneeded in order to combat the growingeconomic divide within society. Piketty’sbook C apital in the Twenty-First C enturyis a detailed study of the history of wealthand income and highlights the rising ratesof inequality around the world. He arguesthat in modern capitalist economicsystems, where the return on capitaloutstrips economic growth, those whohave capital to invest will inevitably get agreater return than those who simply earnan income. Thus the wealth of certainsections of society will grow more quicklythan others and will continue to do so asthis wealth is passed on throughinheritance. His thesis - that inequality willcontinue to rise if unaddressed – echoesthe arguments of many NGos and socialjustice campaigners.

At the Dublin event, Piketty made somerecommendations on tackling inequality,such as the establishment of a progressivewealth tax. Whilst also backing a tax onhigh incomes, Piketty believes a tax oncapital would bridge the widening gapbetween wealth and income. relating thisto the Irish context, he said he felt it wasunfair to have a property tax based solelyon the property value without accountingfor the financial position of the owner.

In September, veteran labour journalistand Associate Fellow at the Institute forPolicy Studies Sam Pizzigati spoke at anevent entitled ‘A politically plausiblemaximum wage?’ organised by Claimingour Future, a national network of civilsociety groups, the conference looked atthe growing problem of global inequality.Pizzigati gave a brief overview of wealthand income inequality in the United Statesand highlighted the negative consequencesof inequality on society, from health to theenvironment, from social and economicissues to basic democracy.

He focused on the idea of a ‘maximumwage’ whereby the incomes of top earnersin corporations and public institutionswould be linked to the wages of lowerincome workers in the same bodies, suchthat the top wage could not exceed aspecified multiple of the lowest earner.Pizzigati called for disclosure of wageratios by companies and public institutions,support for institutions that have modest

wage gaps and restrictions on those whichhave excessive ones, giving several existingexamples.

Taking up the theme, Dr Mary Murphy ofNUI Maynooth and Claiming our Futurecited inequalities within Irish society. Sheechoed Pizzigati’s calls for a maximumwage as something that could help reignitethe social consensus against inequality andmade a number of proposals, including afocus on progressive taxation.

In November Professors richardWilkinson and Kate Pickett, authors ofThe Spir it Level: Why More EqualSo cieties A lmost A lways do Better ,delivered a lecture as part of the TrinityCollege Dublin and University CollegeDublin Public Lecture Series. Theirresearch proposes that societies withgreater levels of income inequality - suchas the US and the UK - experience socialproblems more acutely than more equalsocieties, such as Japan and Sweden.

Wilkinson and Pickett explained that it is

the psycho-social effects of incomeinequality rather than the material effectswhich are important. Inequality creates aperception of superiority and inferiorityamongst people and it is the psychologicaleffect that this division has on the less welloff in society which leads to socialproblems. When asked about possiblesolutions to inequality Wilkinson andPickett welcomed the idea of a progressivetax system but emphasised that incomeinequalities must be tackled before thestage of taxation.

Professor Wilkinson endorsed the idea ofchanging control of industry workplacedemocracy through the creation of ademocratic economy where workerparticipation and co-operative workstructures can aid in the redistribution ofcapital and consequently help create moreequal societies.

Read more at the sites below:

t http://www.tasc.ie/

t http://www.claimingourfuture.ie/,

t http://toomuchonline.org/

t http://inequality.org/

t http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/

Learn more about PILS NI atwww.pilsni.org/

Social Justice, Inequality & Economy:Three perspectives

In January 2014, international humanrights organisation, FIDH (InternationalFederation of Human rights) organiseda fact-finding mission to Greece aimingto expose the negative impact ofausterity policies on Greek society aswell as human rights violations arisingfrom it. FLAC’s Noeline Blackwell is aVice-President of the FIDH and tookpart in the mission along with Greekhuman rights body, the Hellenic Leaguefor Human rights.

December 2014 saw the launch of theresultant report, Downgrading rights:The cost of austerity in Greece. Itsfindings reveal the adverse anddisastrous impacts of stringent anti-crisis measures on human rights, withthe labour and healthcare sectors mostdramatically affected and fundamentalfreedoms curtailed.

The report provides a legal analysis ofthe assault on human rights anddemocratic standards in Greece anddefines the responsibilities attributableto the relevant actors: Greece, theEuropean Union (European Com -mission and European Central Bank), itsMember States and the Internationalfinancial institutions (particularly theInternational Monetary Fund).

According to FIDH, the EU member

states which set up the Troika andendorsed its proposals have breachedtheir own obligations to assist Greece infulfilling its human rights commitments.

However, the report’s conclusions arevalid far beyond the Greek case, andindeed apply to all countries that havebeen undergoing economic assistance inresponse to a severe economicrecession.

“Unlike finances, human rights andfundamental freedoms cannot benefitfrom international bailouts,” saidKonstantinos Tsitselikis, HellenicLeague for Human rights President.“Economic and fiscal policies haveblatantly disregarded their devastatingsocial impacts and authorities havefailed to provide the needed socialsupport.”

By outlining the challenges facingGreece and assessing them againstinternational human rights standards,the report shows that what started asan economic and financial crisis hasturned into an unprecedented assaulton human rights and democraticstandards in all countries sharing asimilar fate.

read the report: thttp://bit.ly/1FL2Sbh

Report on austerity in Greece revealsmultiple human rights violations




Wexford Citizens InformationCentre, located on HenriettaStreet in Wexford Town,

provides free and confidential legal advice tothe public on the first Thursday of everymonth from 7pm to 8:30pm. The centre isrun by Development Manager LorrettaHarte.

Lorretta maintains that there is a high levelof demand for the Wexford FLAC, saying “itgives access to legal information to peoplewho would not otherwise have it.” She findsthat the most effective way to publicise thiskind of service is through word of mouth;people who attend the legal advice clinicpass on knowledge about the service totheir social circles. Feedback on the FLACcentre in Wexford is positive, with somelocals relying on it as their only source oflegal information while trying to facechallenging day-to-day circumstances.

The Wexford FLAC service is only possiblethanks to the voluntary efforts of locallawyers, who give their own time to offerlegal information and advice. Emma Murphy,who began volunteering with FLAC in 2005and was a founding member of the Wexfordcentre, has seen a change in the profile ofpersons seeking legal advice. “There aremore people who would have previouslygone to their own solicitor,” she says. Emmahas also seen an increase in family lawqueries on separation and divorce, as therecession and loss of disposable income hastaken its toll on family life.

Another volunteer in Wexford who hasbeen on board from day one is Nigel D

Allen. Nigel is also a local solicitor inWexford Town who, like Emma, beganvolunteering in the FLAC Centre in 2005.He has also noticed a change in the profileof the persons visiting the centre: “Thedemographic has changed somewhat withperhaps more middle-aged and feweryoung or senior citizens coming in. Inaddition there are now more people fromother EU countries and beyond seekingadvice.” Due to the economic climate inrecent years the nature of the queries,while still predominantly related to familylaw, now present issues such as distressedassets or asset distribution together withtrying to deal with financial institutions.

The volunteers clearly feel a duty to thepublic. Emma Murphy explains her reasonsfor volunteering: “I know there are peoplerelying on me to be there, people who have

become disi llu -sion ed and des -pair ing as theproblems they facetake over theirlives, people…who have beenwaiting for weeksand months forthis appointment. Iturn up because Ihave the ability togive them a smallchink of hope andmake them realisethat there is lightat the end of thetunnel and theissue or problemthey face is never

as big as it first seems.”

Volunteering time as a FLAC volunteer canbe challenging but Emma says “it is worth itfor the heart-lifting feeling when thosepeople smile through their tears andsincerely thank you for the direction andguidance you have given them. It is a wayof giving something back.” Nigel agrees withEmma’s motivations: “It is worth doingwhen people shake your hand at the end ofthe session with a smile and thank yousincerely for your help.”

Lorretta says the FLAC service is veryimportant to the area. “From the per -spective of Wexford Citizens Informa tionService, it is great to be able to offer asignificant extra level of service in the formof Wexford FLAC, to people who aregenerally in challenging circumstances.”Due to the outstanding commitment of theWexford Volunteers who have, as Lorrettaexplains, “each made a significant com mit -ment and contribution to Wexford FLACfor a period of between five and nineyears,” Wexford CIC nominated severalvolunteers to be recognised in the 2014FLAC Volunteer Awards. These were NigelAllen, Siobhan Dunne, Beatrice Ensor,Eadaoin Lawlor, Anne Leech, EmmaMurphy and Sarah Breslin.

FLAC Centre @ Wexford CIC

C aption

F O C U S O N F L A C

Pictured at the Vo lunteer Awards C eremony in December, Peter Ward SC (FLAC C hair), NigelD. A llen, Emma Murphy, Zse Varga (FLAC Vo lunteer & C entres Manager), Lorretta Harte

(Wexford C IC Development Manager

The Wexford FLAC operates on the firstThursday of every month between 7.00 to

8.30pm at 28 Henrietta Street, Wexford Town.

Appointments can be booked by calling 053 91 42012 or 076 107 6720.

Tipp volunteers mark awards evening

Vo lunteers from C o . T ipperary FLAC Services at the T ipperaryC itizens Information Services Award evening on 13 O ctober 2014

in the Horse & Jockey, Thurles.




Social Welfare & Pensions Bill may putpeople at risk of destitutionJulie Herlihy, FLAC Council member

FLAC would like to extend ourwarmest welcome to Julie Herlihywho joined FLAC’s National

Council in November 2014. The Council(which acts as the organisation’s Board) ismade up of a diverse group of individuals,in addition to Julie. It includes Peter WardSC as chairperson, solicitors Don Creweand Joanne Hyde as well as another newmember, Jo Kenny who works in thePensions Board but was previously PILA’sLegal officer.

Julie is from Kilkenny originally. She studiedAccounting and Finance in Dublin CityUniversity. After graduation Julie trained asa Chartered Accountant and a CharteredTax Advisor AITI. She joined the the firmof Arthur Andersen, which subsequentlymerged with KPMG, leaving there tobecome a tax partner in Barr Pomeroy. In2010, Julie joined Baker Tilly ryan Glennonas tax partner where she specialised inprivate and international corporate work.Last year Julie set up her own firm ofHerlihy Tax Consultancy Ltd.

Julie was Chairman of the Leinster Societyof Chartered Accountants from 2008 to2009. Her appointment to FLAC’s Councilcame at just the right time for her, as she

was elected to the Council of CharteredAccountants Ireland in 2010 for a four-yearterm that has just ended.

During her tenure as Chairman on theLeinster Society, Julie and her committeesaw the financial crisis affecting manypeople and recognised the need for astructure which could offer practical helpto people in financial difficulty. Thus theidea of Chartered Accountants VoluntaryAdvice (CAVA) came about. VolunteerChartered Accountants work with theMoney Advice and Budgeting Service(MABS) to help people with bills andpersonal finance. CAVA operates similarlyto FLAC in CICs and MABs officesnationwide.

Julie sees similarities between CAVA andFLAC, both of which use professionalexpertise in a volunteer capacity. She alsohas much praise for the high level policywork of FLAC.

Julie brings years of specialised experienceto FLAC’s Council which is of huge valueespecially now that funding is a growingconcern. She says that she has been“bowled over” by the expertise of herfellow council members; she hopes to add

her understanding of corporate fundingand financial knowledge to that pool ofskills, particularly with a view tomaintaining funding over the coming years.

Welcome on board Julie!

F O C U S O N F L A C

Chartered Accountants Voluntary Advice(CAVA) was set up by CharteredAccountants Ireland Leinster Society in2007. It is a free, confidential, independ -ent national organisation that providesadvice to business people who cannotafford to pay for an accountant, anddraws upon a panel of almost 150experienced chartered accountants. It isthe only charity service of its kind inIreland that puts business people, whoare in severe distress, in contact with anetwork of leading business advisors inChartered Accountants Ireland. CAVAoperates without any external orGovernment funding. More informationat http://bit.ly/CAVAirl

The CAVA service is being rolled outnationwide – it generally operates out ofand with the support of the CitizensInformation Centre network and MABSoffices. People should check with theirlocal MABS or CIC to check whether theservice is available nearby or go online tocitizensinformation.ie

Chartered Accountants Voluntary Advice (CAVA) Volunteer lawyers needed

for advice centres!

If you are interested in using your skills and time to become a FLACvolunteer or if you have any questions about volunteering with FLAC,please get in touch with Zsé Varga, Volunteer & Centres Manager bye-mail at [email protected] or by phone at 01 887 3600.

FLAC is seeking solicitors and barristerswho are qualified to practice in Ireland

to volunteer as advisors in legal advice centres.

Volunteer advisors are asked to commit to dedicating two hours oftheir time a month to providing legal information and advice to

members of the public who otherwise would not be able to access it.The centres are chiefly open in the evenings. FLAC providesinformation resources and other supports to volunteers.

Centres needing new volunteers at the moment include: Swords,Blessington, Navan, Mullingar, Maynooth, Naas, Portlaoise, Tuam,Wicklow Town, Arklow, Stillorgan, Limerick and Letterkenny.


In the last issue of FLAC News, weannounced plans for a new fund -raising drive to help support our

work to promote equal access to justicefor all. We launched the ‘Friends ofFLAC’ campaign on the special occasionof the 8th Dave Ellis Memorial Lecture(see main article for details) in the Pillarroom of Dublin’s rotunda Hospital on 1December 2014.

We know that people need greater helpwith legal problems in recessionarytimes and that our work on legalresearch, advocacy and law reform isvital for marginalised and disadvantagedpeople.

We offer legal assistance to the public onall areas of law through our telephoneinformation and referral line and, in co-operation with Citizens informationCentres, through a network of legaladvice centres throughout Ireland. We

also campaign in particular areas of law,such as access to civil legal aid, fairness insocial welfare law, the use of law in thepublic interest and reform of personaldebt and consumer credit law.

FLAC is incredibly lucky to have a largeand supportive network of volunteersand friends who offer time and expertisein our information, advice and advocacywork, many of whom have been with us

for a very long time. However, securingsufficient funding to maintain and growFLAC's impact is increasingly challenging.

The new ‘Friends of FLAC’ programmeis reaching out to those supporters whocan donate €21 per month, or €10 forthose on lower incomes, on an ongoingbasis. It’s another way to help usmaintain our current capacity as well asopening new paths of achieving of equalaccess to justice for all. We want to domore, but we need your help.

read more about the ‘Friends of FLAC’Programme at www.flac.ie/donate andconsider becoming part of FLAC’sfuture. You’ll be helping deliver that goalof delivering basic human rights andaccess to justice for people in Irelandalongside other like-minded folk.

We can do it together with your help!



IWLA Woman Lawyer of the Year

New FLAC fundraising initiative launched

Fellowship 2014

FLAC Director General Noeline Blackwell was recently presented with the IrishWomen’s Lawyer Association’s award for ‘Woman Lawyer of the Year’. Shereceived this great honour at the IWLA’s annual ‘Women Celebrating WomenLawyers’ Gala Dinner, held in collaboration with Law Society Skillnet and The BarCouncil of Ireland, in the President’s Hall, Law Society of Ireland on 1 November2014.

The IWLA praised in particular Noeline’s work in FLAC over the past decade:‘Noeline has been a powerful and effective advocate for those most marginalised asa consequence of the recent recession, being a force for change in advocating theirrights and consistently campaigning for debt law reform, consumer credit reform andsocial justice.” A keynote address was given by EU ombudsman Emily o’reilly, whopraised Noeline’s work in promoting access to justice in Ireland. You can read moreabout the IWLA at www.iwla.ie.

Pictured L-R: Mary Rose Gearty SC (Bar C ouncil), Emily O ’Reilly, Noeline Blackwell,Maura Butler (IWLA C hair) and A ttracta O ’Regan (Law Society).

Peter Ward SC, Chairperson ofFLAC, presenting Eamonn Maguire,recipient of the Thomas Addis EmmetFellowship for 2014, with his certifi -cate. A law student, Eamonn is alsoworking at the Law Society of Ireland.

The Fellowship is a unique oppor -tunity awarded each summer to anIrish law student interested inworking on critical social justice issuesand developing skills in public interestlaw practice. It is open to all currentlaw students, including students thathave studied law as part of theirundergraduate degree, postgraduatesin law, and students of the King's Innsor Law Society professional practicecourses. Applications for next year’sFellowship are now being accepted –see www.flac.ie for more.


Documents

Flac news winter 2014