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flacNewsI SSN 0 7 9 1 4 1 4 8 l V O L UME 2 2 l N UMBE R 2 l APR I L – J UN E 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

Personal insolvency conferenceexamines government

debt proposalsOn 19 April FLAC held a full-day

conference around thegovernment’s plans for a scheme

dealing with personal debt in Ireland.Entitled ‘Legislating for PersonalInsolvency in Ireland: InternationalDevelopments and Domes tic Issues’, theevent provided a first public forum todiscuss the draft scheme of the personalinsolvency bill since its publication on 25January. The conference featuredcontributions from renowned nationaland international experts in theirrespective fields, both economic and legal.The aim of the conference was toexamine the draft scheme in the light ofbest practice in other jurisdictions and toget a better insight into how similarsystems operate elsewhere.

Minister for Social Protection Joan BurtonTD opened the conference and in heraddress referred to ‘the twin evils of debtand unemployment’ affecting so many inIrish society. FLAC’s Paul Joyce com -mented on the shortcomings of the draftscheme and the inherent difficulties intrying to introduce this complex piece oflegislation in the midst of an economiccrisis. FLAC was extremely fortunate tobe able to draw on the expertise ofrenowned personal insolvency expert,Professor Jason Kilborn, of Chicago’s JohnMarshall Law School, to give a keynoteaddress. Drawing on his extensive com -parative research of personal insol vencyregimes across the EU, Professor Kilbornreached the conclusion that the proposedpersonal insolvency scheme falls signi -ficantly short of ‘the state of the art’ in thearea – that is to say the most progressiveand effective approaches of otherjurisdictions.

Professor Kilborn added that many of its

provisions were ‘counter-productive’;furthermore, he singled out France ashaving debt settlement law par excellence.Importantly, Professor Kilborn discussedeffective personal insolvency legislation asbeing conducive to a better economicoutlook. Far from being an exercise inbank-bashing, it was about maximising

individuals’ potential and productivity andencouraging the kind of healthy risk-takingthat was necessary for economic pro -gress, he said.

[continued on page 8)

As FLAC News went to press, the Personal Insolvency Bill was finally published onJune 29. This long-awaited piece of legislation represents a legal milestone inproviding debtors with out-of-court debt settlement options and updating thelaw on bankruptcy. FLAC is relieved that the Bill has been published but has someconcerns, including the lack of an appeals mechanism for debtors and theretention of the creditor veto in Debt Settlement Arrangements and PersonalInsolvency Arrangements. See our website www.flac.ie for more information – thenext issue of FLAC News will also react to the Bill and its provisions

NEWS FLASH

FLAC Director General Noeline Blackwell, Minister for Justice Alan Shatter TD and FLAC ChairpersonPeter Ward SC outside FLAC's offices before the launch of FLAC's annual report for 2011.

Full report: page 4.

FLAC News Summer 2012 v2_FLAC05 vol15no4 17/07/2012 13:43 Page 1

flac News | Vol. 22, No. 2

F L a c n e w s l a P r i L – J U n e 2 0 1 22

in this edition...Personal insolvency conferenceexamines government debt proposals 1 & 8

Changes to interest supplement 'unfair' to overburdened mortgageholders 2

Behind the mortgage arrears figures 3

FLAC annual report 2011 launch: the issues behind the statistics 4-5

FLAC helps ‘Zambrano’ mother receive back-payments of Child Benefit 6

Tri-City project on EU migrantsexperience of accessing social welfare moves to next level 6

On the frontline of human rights:Aryeh Neier visits Dublin 7

Debt queries to FLAC still growing 9

Focus on FLAC:Emer Butler 10Pearse Street FLAC 11

'Experience of a lifetime' openswindows on social justice in US 12-13

Campaigning continues on civil legal aid 13

PILA Updates: 14-15

Judicial appointment for FLAC Council Member 16

UN human rights expert on extremepoverty issues follow-up report afterIreland visit 16

2012 Women's Mini-Marathon –Team FLAC 16

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

Editors: Noeline Blackwell, EmmaCassidy & Yvonne Woods

Layout and Printing: Printwell Co-operative, Dublin 1

Contributors: Meghan Anthony,Saoirse Brady, Emer Butler, EmmaCassidy, John Deignan, Michael Farrell,Andrew Guy, Paul Joyce, Gillian Kernan,Anita Lenihan, Dearbhail McDonald,Karen McLaughlin, Kim Watts, Yvonne Woods

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

Changes to interestsupplement 'unfair' to

overburdenedmortgage holders

FLAC is gravely concerned at theintroduction of a CommencementOrder for changes to Mortgage

Interest Supplement outlined in s.12 of theSocial Welfare and Pensions Act 2012.The order was laid before the Oireachtaswithout any public announcement and thechanges came into effect on 18 June 2012.The rushed introduction of this measurefails to take into account any of themisgivings expressed by FLAC and theNorthside Community Law Centre(NCLC) in their joint submission on theSocial Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012,which centred on the proposed changesto Mortage Interest Supplement (MIS)flagged in this year’s budget. FLAC alsosupported the ‘7 is Too Young’ campaignled by OPEN (the national network ofone-parent families), Barnardos and theNational Women’s Council of Ireland.

In the joint submission which they putforward in April, FLAC and NCLCrecommended that no proposals tofurther limit Mortgage InterestSupplement be enacted, at least until anoverall package of supports is available.This would include changes to the 30-hour rule and also removing theprohibition on putting a house up for salewhile MIS is being paid. Mortgage InterestSupplement should be aimed at peoplewith sustainable mortgages who canpotentially meet their mortgage interestpayments with some assistance and theirindividual circumstances should be takeninto account.

Under the provisions of the SocialWelfare and Pensions Act 2012, a personwill now not be entitled to MortgageInterest Supplement unless they aredeemed to have made reasonableattempts to engage with their lender andare complying with a payment agreementfor a period of at least 12 months. Ineffect, these individuals will be deniedaccess to state support for the first year oftheir involvement with the MortgageArrears Resolution Process (MARP).

During the debate on the Bill, the Ministerfor Social Protection, Joan Burton TD,stated that one of the purposes of theproposed changes was to ensure that MIS

is a short-term measure utilised alongsidethe MARP to resolve a mortgage arrearsproblem as opposed to becoming a long-term payment with no solution in sight.She explained that part of theDepartment’s motivation for theamendments was to ensure that the“lender has to engage with the process”.

However, FLAC is concerned that theonus in the legislation places too heavy anobligation on the consumer and too littleon the lender. Legislators are operating onthe assumption that the solution proposedby the banks will be a fair one. It does notallow for a situation where the lender hasbeen unreasonable. In addition to this, theAct lacks any provision whereby the banksare compelled to offer any repaymentoption – even under the Code of Conducton Mortgage arrears the possible optionsmust be merely explored.

Under the new law even at the end of a 12month engagement with MARP, access toMIS is not guaranteed. The Department ofSocial Protection must then determinewhether it is “reasonable to award asupplement having regard to the amountof any arrears outstanding on the loan”.The interpretation of what constitutes areasonable mortgage may present anadditional barrier to MIS.

These issues were raised by oppositionTDs from Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil, the UnitedLeft Alliance and members of the technicalgroup on the foot of the FLAC and NCLCsubmission.

At best, the commencement of thisregula tion is premature. It has the po -tential to make mortgages unmanage ablefor many people who are currentlystruggling. Some will be pushed over thelimit if this provision comes in now in thisway. FLAC is urgently requesting thegovernment to defer the implementationof these MIS changes until they put inplace an adequate protection scheme forthose in mortgage distress. Withoutpractical and fair changes to the MISscheme, FLAC believes that the existingmortgage arrears crisis will deterioratefurther and people with sustainablemortgages may fall deeper into debt.



F L a c n e w s l a P r i L – J U n e 2 0 1 2 3

Behind the mortgage arrears figures

Reactions to the latest set of CentralBank quarterly figures onresidential mortgage arrears and

related legal proceedings demonstrate justhow centre-stage this issue has moved.Preceding the release of the latest figures,the Sunday Business Post published anarticle predicting that the level of casesarrears in the 90 days plus category wouldbreak the psychological barrier of 10% (orone in ten) for the first time.

Earlier this year, An Taoiseach EndaKenny TD declared mortgage arrears tobe “the single biggest issue currently facingIrish people,” yet he was upbraided by theleader of Fianna Fail for the delay inintroducing personal insolvency legislation.This is coming from a political party thatdid absolutely nothing in legislative termson the settlement of personal debts over14 years in power, despite the writing onthe wall from as far back as 2003, whenFLAC first publicly called for debtsettlement legislation. We now have atotal of eleven sets of quarterly statisticsfrom the Central Bank on residentialmortgage arrears. Amongst them aresome interesting facts:

q At the end of September 2009 (Q.1),26,271 accounts were in the 90 plusdays arrears category.

q Exactly two and a half years later(Q.11) there are 77,630 suchaccounts. That is an increase of over50,000 households, averaging wellover 1,700 new cases per month.

q The average amount owed in arrearsper household has increased from€13,490 in September 2009 to€16,704 in March 2012.

q 2,408 new cases to repossess familydwellings were brought between July2009 and the end of March 2012.

q 1,205 Possession Orders weregranted during this period, but only411 houses were actually repos sessedon foot of a court order.

q On the other hand, during the sameperiod, 932 houses were voluntarilysurrendered or abandoned, which iswell over twice the number repos -sessed.

q The number of family homes returnedto lenders has increased from 331 to961 during this time.

At the end of the first quarter of 2012,77,630 accounts (or 10.2% of the total of764,138) in Ireland were in arrears of 90plus days with 65 houses beingrepossessed during this period. In the UK,

on the other hand, at the end of the firstquarter of 2012, approximately 134,000residential mortgage accounts had arrearsgreater than 2.5% of the outstandingbalance (the measurement of distress usedby the Council of Mortgage Lenders in theUK) but the number of properties takeninto possession during this quarter was7,900. Therefore, compared with the UKour arrears problem is seven times worse,but the rate of court-ordered possessionin the UK is ten times greater.

Some might say that this is a good thingand mortgage lenders in Ireland may arguethat it shows that the forbearance beingoffered to borrowers in distress isworking. Another explanation might befounded in the reality of negative equityand the fear of lenders that inrepossessing, they will crystallise a sizeableshortfall that will be very difficult to everrecover, in addition to swelling thenumber of unshiftable properties on theirbooks. It is worth noting that despite thelow level of legal proceedings, mortgagelenders now have over 600 moreproperties on their hands compared toSeptember 2009.

It will be suggested that the low level ofrepossessions is proof of the success ofthe Code of Conduct on MortgageArrears (CCMA), with its mandatoryMortgage Arrears Resolution Process(MARP). How long can you kick the canbefore you run out of road, however? It isnotable in this respect that of the 79,712residential mortgage accounts that arecurrently rescheduled, some 41,054 (52%)are also in arrears. In addition, 35% arepaying interest only, 14% less than interestonly and 4% are paying nothing at all. Thenthere is the impending catastrophe that isthe buy-to-let market; the figures due (forthe first time) later this year are likely tomake grim reading.

In short, a potential repossessions timebomb may be staring us squarely in theface unless we put in place measures toalleviate it. Already we have seen thepossibility of split mortgages, a revolution -ary concept two years ago, being advoca -

ted openly by one lender in particular.However, earlier this year a spokespersonfor the Irish Banking Federation (IBF)remarked at its Annual Conference thatthe mortgage arrears resolution strategyprocess had concentrated the mind oflenders on the problem of unsustainablemortgages. Mortgage lenders are no doubtintently focused on personal insolvencylegislation looming on the horizon, withmandatory write-down of mortgage debtbecoming a real possibility if they do notdeal more realistically with the problem.

FLAC has been campaigning for a decadenow for the introduction of proper debtsettlement legislation. A lot of wrongshave been perpetrated upon unfortunateborrowers during that time. TheGovernment may express frustration atthe lack of progress, but the delay is of itsown and its predecessor’s making. For thethousands of families suffering severefinancial distress, the ongoing failure to actis intolerable as we still await a coherentcross-departmental strategy.

What can be done? A more robust volun -tary restructuring of mortgages witheventual write down where appropriate isessential. This must be backed by a formalpersonal insolvency scheme that will takeout unsecured debt within a reasonabletimeframe for those who are insolvent andwill also allow for the compulsoryrestructuring of mortgages where lendersrefuse reasonable proposals. With thetaxpayer as well as the banks on the linefor large sums, there are no winners inthis process; but the personal andmortgage debt mess has to becleaned up for economic as well associal justice reasons. In the eyes ofpeople who continue to honour theirfinancial commitments or who neveravailed of ‘easy’ credit in the first place,the write-offs or write-downs of debt fortheir neighbours may appear to be unjustand unfair. International evidence, how -ever, suggests that it is in the long-terminterest of society as a whole that formalprocesses to resolve over-indebtedness ina coherent and structured manner are putin place.

FLAC's recent conference on personalinsolvency and the proposed state scheme(see pages 1 and 8) highlighted innovativeapproaches to the kind of problems weface that have been tried and tested inother jurisdictions. It also concluded thatwhile the Irish scheme as currently draftedis a step forward, it falls far short in somekey areas. With its new deadline of theend of June, FLAC urges the governmentto act swiftly and decisively.

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FLAC annual report 2011 launch: the issues behind the statistics On June 18, FLAC

unveiled itsA nnual Repo r t

2011 at an event in theorganisation's headquarterson Dublin's Dorset Street.Minister for Justice, Equalityand Defence, Alan Shatterlaunched the report, ack -nowl edging the organisa -tion's work on legal servicesand personal debt lawreform and complimentingFLAC on “a fine body ofwork completed in 2011”.

As the report outlines, thiswork was based around three interconnecting cogs of advice &information, analysis and advocacy. In particular, FLAC focused onthe support systems available to people in need of help, in terms oflegal assistance, fairness in social welfare and personal debt. FLAC’scontact with people on the ground has revealed that many are findingthemselves in situations where they need state support, whethershort or long-term, through no fault of their own, with very littlenotice and inadequate personal reserves. Thus the organisation hasbeen working to ensure the fairest, most transparent supportsystems possible – systems that respect basic human rights anddecency even and especially in recessionary times.

In 2011, FLAC answered 12,923 telephone line calls – this is anincrease of 39% over 2010. This includes increases in queriesaround credit and debt (up 68.6%), neighbour disputes (up 77.6%),negligence/personal injury (up 70.9%) and contract law (up 93.5%).Our telephone information line provides basic legal information overa lo-call telephone line at 1890 350250.

In terms of legal advice centres, we have worked hard to improveour network so that we now offer free legal advice at 80locations around Ireland. In 2011, FLAC recorded some 13,362queries from participating centres, an increase of almost 22%over 2010. This included greater queries around credit and debt (up47%), employment (up 30%), neighbour disputes (up 85.7%) andclient -solicitor relations (up 48.6%). In this area FLAC is deeplygrateful to the more than 700 volunteer lawyers around the country,and is also hugely indebted to the Citizens Information Centreswhich host FLAC's advice work and whose staff facilitate andadminister the legal advice clinics.

In its key areas of work, FLAC has concentrated on providingpractical, useful legal information to the public and to support otherbodies working with the public, on monitoring the state's duty torespect, protect and realise basic human rights, and on promotinglegal reform that is progressive, fair and that advances social justice.This includes:

q clarifying consumer credit rights around Hire Purchase in theGabriel case

q working with other organisations on a set of basic principles toovercome personal debt,

q preparing guides on topics like the Code of Conduct onMortgage Arrears, the Social Welfare Appeals process and theCivil Legal Aid system,

FLAC Chairperson Peter Ward SC presenting Minister Shatter with photo from his time in FLAC

FLAC General Director Noeline Blackwell with Independent TD for Dublin Central, Maureen O'Sullivan

Former Chairperson of the Legal Aid Board Anne Colley sharing somememories with Minister Shatter over their days as student activists with

FLAC

Minister Shatter launching FLAC's annualreport

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5F L a c n e w s l a P r i L – J U n e 2 0 1 2

FLAC annual report 2011 launch: the issues behind the statistics q campaigning for the recognition of transgender

people and the rights of deaf people to serve onjuries,

q advocating for a fairer and more transparentsocial welfare system, and

q progressing public interest law in Ireland via ourPublic Interest Law Alliance project (PILA) whichprovides legal training and pro bono legalassistance and support to NGOs from its registerof lawyers and legal firms, as well as disseminatinginformation on legal developments through its e-Bulletin and revamped website.

On behalf of the board and staff, FLAC ChairpersonPeter Ward SC welcomed invited friends of FLAC tothe launch, saying the report marked FLAC's workand achievements of the past year in a difficulteconomic climate. Launching the report, MinisterShatter touched on several of FLAC's core issues,stressing that key legislation on personal insolvencywould shortly be published (the bad news being thatthe bill would exceed 200 pages in length) and thatlegal services delivery in Ireland would also see majorreform. He singled out the system of social welfareappeals as "needing further work", especially inrelation to transparency. The Minister also noted thecontinued involvement of law students in FLAC'sadvice work, and the massive growth in the numberof people FLAC assists, commenting that “behindthese impressive statistics lie the everyday issues thatconcern us all which are FLAC’s real success story.”

Director General Noeline Blackwell said the eventwas an occasion to not only thank FLAC's volunteers,staff and interns, but also to pay tribute to the"important partnerships" FLAC has with otherorganisations, statutory bodies, funders and campaignallies with whom FLAC had worked throughout theyear. She acknowledged that FLAC was underincreased pressure in these straitened times, pointingout that the organisation had handled well over83,000 queries since the start of the recession in2008.

At the launch, Minister Shatter was presented with aframed press cutting from December 1972. Thecutting featured a photo of the late David Molony(then Chairperson of FLAC and later a TD), withAnne Colley (then FLAC Secretary and later a TDand Chairperson of the Legal Aid Board), and AlanShatter himself at a FLAC event highlighting the needfor family law reform. In fact, as a law student,Minister Shatter had been Director of the CrumlinFLAC Centre and a Council (Board) Member ofFLAC throughout 1973 and 1974. He was electedchairperson of FLAC in February 1975 and served aschair until August of that year, when he left to takeup studies abroad.

The FLAC annual report 2011 isavailable online at bit.ly/annrep2011

FLAC volunteers Mark Murphy and Laura Monk with Citizens Information Board CEO Tony McQuinn (centre)

FLAC Chairperson Peter Ward SC, Muriel Walls, Legal Aid Board Chairperson and Brian Gallagher, solicitor

Members of independent law centres with Minister Shatter. Pictured L-R: Noeline Blackwell,FLAC; Brian Barry, Mercy Law Centre; Minister for Justice Equality and Defence Alan ShatterTD; Moya De Paor, Northside Community Law Centre; Bernie Walsh, Mercy Law Centre;

Mikayla Sherlock, Ballymun Community Law Centre.




FLAC helps 'Zambrano' mother receiveback-payment of Child Benefit

Acaller to FLAC’s telephoneinformation line recently inform -ed us of how FLAC’s information

and guides to the social welfare systemhelped her to take her own successfulsocial welfare appeal. She first came toIreland as an asylum seeker in 2003. Herbaby was born here and she applied forChild Benefit but left before herapplication was fully processed.

She returned to Ireland in 2006 and livedin direct provision accom modation. Atthis point she was informed by fellowresidents that there had been a change insocial welfare law and she would nolonger be eligible for Child Benefitbecause of the introduction of theHabitual Residence Condition (HRC). Itwas not until 2007 that she became awareof FLAC’s Child Benefit campaign; then,equipped with the knowledge she hadgained from FLAC’s information leaflets,she reapplied for Child Benefit in 2008.Her application was initially refused as atthat time the Department of SocialProtection (formerly Social and Family

Affairs) exercised a blanket exclusion ofasylum seekers. At this point FLACsuggested she make a Freedom of Infor -mat ion request for her social welfare fileand she used the information to appealthe negative decision to the SocialWelfare Appeals Office.

The initial Appeal’s Officer’s decision wasnegative as was a subsequent review ofthe file by the Chief Appeal’s Officer inApril 2011. However, after being grantedleave to remain in July 2011 the claimantagain contacted FLAC for help. An infor -ma tion provider explained the operationof the HRC and referred her to the FLACGuides to the Habitual Residence Con -dition and Making a Social WelfareAppeal. The claimant said she found theguides to be clear and easy to understandand they were a useful support to theinformation she received over the phonein terms of understanding how she wouldbe able to demonstrate her links toIreland for purposes of fulfilling theCondition. Also in this case an importantpoint of law seems to have been

established. The claimant was grantedleave to remain on the basis that her childis an Irish citizen following the landmarkjudgment by the European Union Court ofJustice in the Zambrano case (C‑34/09,judgment of 8 March 2011). Under thisruling, she had a right to reside in Irelandas the parent of an EU citizen child. Thishad an important impact on her socialsecurity entitlement, as the AppealsOfficer in her second social welfare appealdecided that the claimant had fulfilled theHabitual Residence Condition from thedate she claimed Child Benefit in 2008rather than from the date she was grantedleave to remain. This decision is significantas the Appeals Officer appears to applythe Zambrano judgment retrospectively inthis case.

Contacting FLAC again in April 2012 to letus know her appeal had been successful,she told the social welfare team that shewould not have been able to access herwelfare entitlement without FLAC’s help.FLAC hopes to test this point of law in asmall number of ongoing strategic cases.

Tri-City project on EU migrants experience ofaccessing social welfare moves to next level

The last FLAC News reported thatFLAC had partnered withthe AIRE Centre in London

and independent Dutch consultant LizeGlas in a EU Commission-funded Tri-Cityproject on EU migrants' access to specialnon-contributory benefits. Unlike othersocial security payments, such as familybenefits, special non-contributory bene -fits have the characteristics of socialassist ance payments and are not export -able or transferable from one EU MemberState to another. In the Irish contextthese include Jobseekers’ allow ance; Statepension (non-contributory); Widow’s(non-contributory) pension and widow -er’s (non- contributory) pension; Disa -bility allowance; Mobility allowance andBlind Pension.

Special non-contributory benefits arerooted in a complex and evolving area ofsocial security and free movement underEU law, which has posed difficulties forthe legal frameworks of some EUMember States. Moreover, since the UKand Irish social security systems arecurrently developing plans to introduce asingle payment based on ability to work,

the question of exportability of benefitswill become very relevant in both juris -dictions. This issue was highlighted byleading UK practitioner Adrian Berry BLat a recent Law Centre NI training event.

The rationale for the project arose fromthe AIRE Centre’s observations thatproblems related to accessing specialnon-contributory benefits impact dis -proportionately on low-income individ -uals. They are unlikely to have access toquality legal advice and services, which isparticularly important given the com -plexity of this area of law. In FLAC’sexperience, migrants are often unawareof their entitlements and in most casesunsure of where they might accessinforma tion. The project will run untilMarch 2013, ending with a report and aclosing conference in London. Projectpartners have developed five specificactivities to assist them in providinginformation on special non-contributorybenefits. Two of those activities, namelymonitoring developments in the area andproviding advice to migrants, will takeplace throughout the life span of theproject. FLAC has also designed a

checklist to help monitor case lawavailable at bit.ly/noncont_list.

The first few months of the project havefocused on networking activities withroundtable events in the three partnercities. The roundtables provided an ex -cellent opportunity to share experien cesand the last of the roundtables was held inthe Dutch city of The Hague on 14 May2012. This was attended by a represen -tative of the European Commission, whowas keen to hear about networks createdduring the project's first phase, which willgreatly enhance the final report. The nextstep in the project will be to developinformation notes specific to each partnercountry for EU migrants and theiradvocates and these will be distributedand translated into different EU languages.

For more information, pleasecontact FLAC Policy & AdvocacyOfficer, Saoirse Brady. Materials

from all roundtables areavailable on FLAC's website at

bit.ly/noncont_list




On the frontline of human rights:Aryeh Neier visits Dublin

Two giants of the internationalhuman rights community tookcentre stage at a lecture in Dublin

on 7 June.

Aryeh Neier, President of the OpenSociety Foundation, chaired the eventwhich was entitled ‘Five Decades on thefrontline: Reflections on what the humanrights movement has accom plished’. Itwas chaired by Mary Robinson, formerPresident, former Executive Director ofHuman Rights Watch and NationalDirector of the Mary RobinsonFoundation for Climate Justice. The eventwas organised by Front Line Defendersand the Irish Times in association withFLAC and the Irish Society ofInternational Law. It allowed Mr Neier toshare thoughts and opinions garneredthroughout his long career in theinternational human rights arena.

While Mr Neier’s speech focused pre -dominantly on civil and political rights, afervent counterbalance was provided byMary Robinson, a lifelong advocate forrights in the economic, social and culturalsphere. Mr Neier began by praising FrontLine Defenders and the work it carriesout as an organisation, in addition to thecountless individual campaigners physicallyon the front line themselves. Those thattoil on the frontier of the human rightsmovement are responsible for anyprogress that is made, he said.

Mr Neier traced the development ofglobal equality movements that he felt hadmost heavily influenced the human rightsdebate. He described the anti-slaverymovement as a pioneering force that wasdifferentiated from self-serving campaignsby its altruistic nature. The overall aim ofthe movement was not about giving rightsto those who curtly demanded them butrather about seeking equality for the mostdisadvantaged.

He touched upon the influential roleplayed by international human rightsprinciples in bringing about regime changein the late 1980s and early 1990s. MrNeier reflected on the experience of LatinAmerican states, in particular theemergence of Argentina from the shadowof a military dictatorship. While not thesole factor, human rights were also seenan essential feature in making thetransition from military government toquasi-democracy in several countries inEast Asia.

Mr Neier conceded that the link betweeneconomic prosperity and politicalfreedom appears more tenuous in theface of the global financial crisis. Rapidgrowth and expansion in China appears instark contrast to financial decline inWestern Europe and the United States.However, he argued that human rightsstill have the potential to influence societalchange. Burma’s recent by-electionsdemonstrate how the country isattempting to navigate its way towards amore democratic, open system ofgovernment following half a century ofrule by military junta. Sierra Leone, Liberiaand the Cote d’Ivoire were cited by MrNeier as examples of the human rightsprogress being made in African states.

Three specific scenarios pose the greatestchallenges to the human rights movementtoday, according to Mt Neier. The firstwas to address abuses that occur duringarmed conflict. The main difficulty here isin accurately distinguishing who is anactive combatant in the conflict fromordinary civilians. He mentioned theincreasing use of unmanned drones as aconcern in this respect also.

The second challenge confronting thehuman rights movement is around holdingto account those guilty of gross abuses.Mr Neier mentioned the relative successof ad hoc tribunals such as theInternational Criminal Tribunal for theFormer Yugoslavia (ICTY). The ICTY hassuccessfully brought every individualindicted before it, most recently GoranHadžić, the former President of SerbianKrajina.

Counter-terrorism and acts carried out inthe name of the ‘war on terror’constituted the final concern for MrNeier. The question of how to investigateand subsequently prosecute terroristoffences is highly problematic for theinternational human rights community. AsMr Neier concluded, the work of humanrights will never be done; there will alwaysbe fresh challenges and concerns.

Mary Robinson, in her role as chairpersonfor the evening, then presided over a livelyquestion and answer session. Topicsraised by the audience and Ms Robinsonherself included the possible emergenceof human rights internally in China; theimportance of non-governmental organ -isa tions in disseminating human rightsinformation; the importance of socio-economic rights as well as civil andpolitical rights; and the division of humanrights into first, second and third genera -tions and whether this defies theuniversal, inter-dependent nature of theright themselves.

Interestingly, Ms Robinson began by men -tioning Pakistani lawyer Asma Jahangir. MsJahangir had been scheduled to speak atthe PILA/PILS Project conference takingplace in Belfast on the same day as theFrontline lecture (see page 14 for moreon the joint confer ence). However, shewas unable to leave her home due tothreats on her life. The story underlinedthe significance of Front Line’s work and itgave us a stark reminder of the perennialdangers faced by those who stand up forhuman rights when it may not be popularor indeed safe to do so.

L-R: Noeline Blackwell, Mary Lawlor, Aryeh Neier, Mary Robinson & Chris Martin


8 F L a c n e w s l a P r i L – J U n e 2 0 1 2


Read more at the dedicated micro-

site: www.flac.ie/debtconference2012

Personal insolvency conferenceexamines government debt proposalsThe second keynote speaker, Norwegianlawyer Egil Rokhaug, drew on his first-hand experience of writing the law thatincluded secured debt in personal insol -vency legislation. Norway, with a similarlyhigh rate of home ownership to Ireland,had been through a housing bubble andbust in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

The collapse of house prices in Norwaythus had a similar outcome to our ownsituation, with high personal debt andworrying levels of mortgage arrears. Egilexplained how the Norwegian DebtSettlement Act 1993 offered debtors asecond chance and allowed for securedand unsecured debts to be written downwhere an individual is found to beinsolvent. He also stressed that theperceived danger of moral hazard – whichhas been advanced in the context of thedraft scheme also – has not materialised.In this regard he emphasised the onerousqualifying criteria for debtors under theAct. The final keynote speaker, Athens-based consumer rights lawyer MelinaMouzouraki, outlined Greece’s nascent2010 debt adjustment law, which haspaved the way for write-down of personaldebt in certain cases. Though still in itsinfancy, Melina referred to a number ofhelpful case studies in which the legislationhas been applied.

In an earlier session, Tom McDonnell, aneconomist with local think-tank Tasc,explained the economic reason ing behindincluding secured debt in any settlementscheme. Professor Gerry Whyte of TrinityCollege Dublin went into some of theconstitutional arguments, concluding thatthat claims in favour of protecting proper tyrights would be over-ruled by “theexigencies of the common good”, as laidout in the constitution. The day endedwith a questions and answers session andensuing debate, comprising short inputsfrom a variety of commentators, fromMABS advisors to personal debt journal -ists to insolvency practitioners to lawreform com mis sioners.

On the whole, the conference provided aplatform for reflection on the draftscheme, which comprised submissionsfrom consumer advocates and creditindustry representatives alike. The con -ference also evinced how out of stepIreland is with other EU jurisdictions inthis area, and high lighted the pitfalls whichIreland must avoid to ensure an effectivesystem with the capacity to address theoverindebtedness at its root – not ascheme which is destined to fail from its

outset. It also concluded that society mustdrop the outdated notion that debtorshave done wrong and must be punished.Separately, FLAC notes that the publica -tion of the personal insolvency bill hasnow been delayed until the end of June.While this potentially allows for the viewsexpressed at the conference to be takeninto account by the drafters, FLAC –through its front line services – remains alltoo aware of the inexorable rise inmortgage arrears and of the scale of

indebtedness in society. It thus goeswithout saying that the introduction of thelegislation cannot come soon enough.That said, an effective, balanced andcompre hensive bill should not be com -prom ised for the sake of expedition.

[continued from front page]

FLAC Debt Conference

Top left: Professor Jason Kilborn, John Marshall Law School, ChicagoTop right: Paul Joyce, FLAC Senior Policy Researcher

Middle: Paul Joyce, Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton TD, FLAC Chairperson Peter Ward SC, and Noeline Blackwell

Bottom: Greek consumer rights lawyer Melina Mouzouraki, FLAC Director GeneralNoeline Blackwell, Norwegian lawyer Egil Rokhaug, Minister for Social Protection JoanBurton TD, FLAC Chairperson Peter Ward SC, FLAC Senior Policy Researcher Paul Joyce

and Professor Jason Kilborn

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Debt queries to FLAC still growing

Foy Case delay undermines ECHR Act

OThe Government’s failure tobring in transgender legislationnearly five years after judgment

in the Lydia Foy case is starting toundermine the European Convention onHuman Rights Act, 2003 (the ECHR Act).

The whole idea of the ECHR Act was toenable people to get a remedy forbreaches of their European Conventionrights from the Irish courts instead ofhaving to go to the Court of HumanRights in Strasbourg.

But in Lydia Foy’s case the High Courtruled that the failure to recognise Ms Foy inher female gender was a breach of herrights under Article 8 of the ECHR. TheCourt granted a declaration that Irish lawwas incompatible with the ECHR. That wassupposed to trigger Government action tochange the law but, despite repeatedpromises, nothing has happened so far.

If the Government does not act quickly toallow for transgender recognition, it willsend out a message that this mechanism isineffective and that people who believethat their ECHR rights have been violatedwould be better off taking their cases toStrasbourg than seeking a declaration ofincompatibility from the Irish courts.

That would also undermine the Govern -ment’s commitment at the recentBrighton Conference on the future of theEuropean Court of Human Rights, whereit signed a declaration that Council ofEurope member states “must effectivelyresolve violations at the national level”.

The main stumbling bloc to changing thelaw seems to be a fear that if it recognisedgender change by transgender personswho are already married and want to staymarried, this would amount torecognising same-sex marriage. The

Government’s working group on theissue recommended that people in thissituation must get a divorce before theycould be recognised in their acquiredgender. This was opposed by almosteveryone who made a submission to theworking group.

FLAC has pointed out to the Departmentof Social Protection, which is responsiblefor this area, that pressurising couples todivorce would appear to be in breach ofthe constitutional protection of marriage– the very institution the advocates of‘forced divorce’ say they want to protect.We have also pointed out that under Irishdivorce law, this would require loving andcaring couples to perjure themselves byclaiming in court that the marriage wasirrevocably broken down, and wouldrequire them to live apart for four years

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The number of people contacting FLACwith debt queries continued to rise in2011. More than 1500 people called

FLAC’s telephone informa tion line last year witha debt-related query, accounting for 12% of allcalls received throughout the year. This iscompared with just 1.7% of calls in 2008, at thestart of the current recession. This was a 68%increase on the number of debt calls received in2010 and a massive 873% increase in the numberof debt-related calls since 2008.

In addition to the calls from the public, FLAC alsoadvised on 277 queries from MABS for secondtier legal advice provided by our credit and debtlaw expert, Paul Joyce.

Similarly, in the legal advice centres, some 1157people came to FLAC in 2011 with a debt-relatedquery, or 9.1% of all callers to FLAC centres,contrasted with 3.6% in 2008. Debt queries wereup 47% on the 2010 figures and up 346% on debtqueries to FLAC centres in 2008.

Increases in debt-related calls can be seen acrossall centres nationwide, from Letterkenny toWexford to Bantry. A breakdown of debt-related queries in FLAC’s centres shows thatalmost 40% of queries were on mortgage arrears,some 24% on debt collection procedures andsome 22% on personal loans.

[continued on page 10)

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F O C U S O N F L A C :

Emer Butler, Executive Officer

Emer Butler joined FLAC in June2010. As Executive Officer, herrole involves providing support to

FLAC’s management and Council (orgoverning board) which encompasses abroad range of areas including: funding,governance, risk management, eventmanagement, monitoring and evaluation,reporting against FLAC’s strategic planand data management. In this capacity sheis based at the organisation’sheadquarters on Dorset Street. In hertwo years in FLAC, Emer’s role hasevolved in line with the needs of theorganisation and in particular has anincreased emphasis on funding andfundraising.

Before joining FLAC, Emer worked with aconsultancy firm, Prospectus, whichspecialises in strategy development anddoes a lot of work with NGOs andvoluntary bodies. There she workedmainly with non-profit clients. As shesays, “It was great exposure to thechallenges being faced by organisationswho are working for social change andequality in Ireland. Among other things, Idid quite a bit of work with organisationsin the LGBT sector and also the olderpeople’s sector and especially enjoyedthis.” Emer also completed an internshipin Irish Aid, the Irish Government’sprogramme of assistance to developingcountries, and spent two years workingwith Suas Educational Developmentwhere she managed their overseasvolunteer programme. Interestingly, heracademic background is in psychology: “Iactually originally started doing a lawdegree but then switched to science

where I ultimately specialised inpsychology, so there is some irony in myending up working in FLAC!”

Emer sees the question of funding as thenumber one issue facing FLAC now andinto the future. To date, the organisationhas been very fortunate in receivingfunding from a mixture of sourcesincluding statutory funding, donationsfrom the legal profession through the BarCouncil and Law Society, individualdonations and philanthropic funding. “Thisfunding allowed us to provide directsupport to well over 25,000 people lastyear, not to mention those who receivedinformation through our website andpublications, and all those who benefitfrom FLAC’s strategic litigation andcampaigning work,” says Emer.

The future looks more challenging as theAtlantic Philanthropies prepares to winddown its operations. Atlantic is a limitedlife foundation that has generously fundedFLAC, as well as a wide range of otherorganisations working for social change,for the past number of years. Yet, Emerremains optimistic: “It will be a challenge,certainly, and it is sometimes harder to‘sell’ access to justice as it often doesn’tmean anything until a person has directlyexperienced a legal difficulty themselves.However FLAC’s long-standing reputa -tion and positive impact speak forthemselves and I’m confident that thereare lots of people and organisations outthere who will be interested investing inFLAC’s work”.

Emer is keen to highlight the importanceand value of having both service deliveryand campaigning functions in theorganisation, noting that this means thatthe policy and advocacy work is directlyconnected to the experiences of peopleall around Ireland, strengthening andadding credibility to any calls for reform.What she enjoys most about her work,however, is the opportunity to contributeto an organisation that is actively seekingpositive change for people living inIreland:

“FLAC’s focus on systems – whetherthat be systems related to socialwelfare, legal aid, or debt – and peoplehaving access to fair and equitablesystems really appeals to me. Itmightn’t always sound very exciting,but the impact of even a small changecan be really significant for hugenumbers of people.”

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Inside the Centre: FLAC @ Pearse Street

before the transgender partner could getrecognition.

The German Constitutional Court dealtwith this very issue in 2008. German lawalso required ‘forced divorce’ and hadsimilar conditions for divorce: separationfor a substantial period (three years) andirrevocable break-down. The GermanCourt said this requirement

“makes the realisation of onefundamental right contingent onrenoun cing the other. This leads thepersons concerned not only to avirtually unsolvable internal conflict,but also to an unacceptable

impairment of fundamental rights.[The law] is hence unconstitutionalbecause it does not afford to amarried transsexual the possibility toobtain legal recognition of his or hernew gender affiliation without havingto terminate his or her marriage.”

A FLAC volunteer translated this Germanjudgment and we have sent a copy to theDepartment of Social Protection in thehope that they will drop this unnecessaryand unworkable suggestion.

In the meantime, the Government hasappointed an advisor to recommendwhether to pay compensation to Lydia

Foy for the breach of her rights. There isa provision in the ECHR Act forcompensation to be paid on adiscretionary basis where a court makes adeclaration of incompatibility with theECHR and this is the first time thisprovision has been used.

FLAC has welcomed this developmentbut has pointed out that anycompensation offered must be significantin order to make this an effectivesanction. And we must stress thatcompensation is no substitute forchanging the law to give Lydia Foy andother transgender persons the legalrecognition which is their right.

Foy Case delay undermines ECHR Act (continued)




F O C U S O N F L A C :

Based in St Andrew's CommunityCentre in South Dublin citycentre, Pearse Street FLAC

offers a weekly general legal adviceclinic every Thursday. In 2011, therewere 111 legal queries recorded at theclinic. The most common areas ofenquiry were around employment law,family law and credit and debt issues.Of the callers who sought advice atPearse Street, 99% of these did nothave a solicitor of their own.

“Pearse Street is different. I’ve volun -teered at a few different FLAC centresaround Dublin, more suburban ones,but you can never tell who will walk inthe door at Pearse Street or what theirquery will be” says FLAC volunteerDerek Charles. Derek has beenvolunteering for the organisation forfive years at a range of FLAC centres,including Tallaght, Crumlin andDundrum. However, he found the realvariety of clients at the Pearse Streetcentre surprising. “The difference ispeople will travel to Pearse Street, notjust from other parts of the capital butfrom all over the country. It’s veryaccessible and people who may be tooshy to seek advice from a local, ruraladvisor feel they can come to PearseStreet in confidence”.

The geographical variety of those usingthe Pearse Street centre also meansthat the FLAC volunteers there areexposed to a broad spectrum of legalqueries. Derek notes that this“certainly keeps you on your toes”which adds to the positive experienceof being a volunteer. “It’s important for

solicitors to experience a wide range ofquestions and topics too. But it’s vitalto give something back and that’s why Ibelieve that volunteering with FLAC isincredibly important”.

This is a sentiment shared by LorraineLally. Lorraine has volunteered withFLAC for just over a year after beingintroduced to the idea by a colleague ofhers. She gives legal advice at severalFLAC clinics, an exercise which she saysis incredibly useful for a young solicitor.She says that volunteering with FLACrequires legal practitioners to explainlegal matters in plain English withoutdescending into complex technicalterms and legalese. The whole point ofthe exercise is to make law accessiblefor everyone. “It’s all about informa tion.If you don’t understand the law, thenhow can you possibly know about yourrights or enforce them?”

Lorraine also praises the ability of FLACvolunteers to effectively refer callers tothe legal advice centres on to othersuitable organisations. The complex,nuanced queries often means thatpeople require the assistance of severalbodies. “Referrals are really importantfor people who have overlapping con -cerns. FLAC volunteers have a goodknowledge of support groups andservices that can complement the legaladvice that our centres give”. In 2011,some 49 callers to Pearse Street FLACwere referred to another agency foradditional assistance.

Pearse Street FLAC has become aninvaluable and trusted resource forthose seeking legal advice from Dublinand further afield. The ongoing work ofthe volunteer solicitors and barristersensures that the role played the FLACcentre within the Pearse Street com -munity can continue for years to come.As Lorraine Lally says, “FLAC's work isvitally important as the volun teers, bymaking the law clearer, give an elementof empowerment to people”.

FLAC volunteer advisor Lorraine Lally at Pearse Street FLAC

Inside the Centre: FLAC @ Pearse Street

Pearse Street FLAC hostsgeneral legal advice clinics everyThursday from 7.30pm-8.30pmin St Andrews Community

Centre, Dublin 2.

For more information and a listof all FLAC centres, visitwww.flac.ie/gethelp



On 25 June, the US SupremeCourt issued an historicruling in Miller v. Alabama and

Jackson v. Hobbs holding that manda -tory life-without-parole senten cesfor all children 17 or youngerconvicted of homicide are unconsti -tu tional.

The ruling was a resounding victory forhuman rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson,Executive Director of the Equal JusticeInitiative who represents Kuntrell Jacksonand Evan Miller – two 14-year-old boyssentenced to mandatory life withoutparole.

More than 2,500 children are serving lifewithout parole in America for crimes theycommitted while a juvenile includingchildren as young as 13.

I had the privilege of visiting Bryan and hisstaff at the Equal Justice Initiative inAlabama as part of an extraordinary,exhilarating and exhausting journey acrossAmerica with the Eisenhower Fellowships.

One of twenty-one fellows from aroundthe world, my Eisenhower Fellowship wasdedicated to the future of journalism,investigative journalism and advocacy inthe digital age.

“This took me into the heart of theWashington Post, the Wall Street Journal,the LA Times, the Huffington Post as wellas CBS and a host of new mediacompanies that pose a threat to traditionalnews and business models.”

But I also reserved space in my itinerary toexplore the modus operandi of dynamic

organizations that promote social justiceand human rights. Over the course of 100meetings in 13 states in less than 8 weeks,I also met with organizations andindividuals dedicated to overcomingconflict via leadership, music and the arts.

A final objective, to cure a lifelong fear ofdriving – I just passed my driving test lastyear – was accomplished by a white-knuckle, solo drive from Los Angeles toSan Francisco along the stunning Big Sur.

I started out in Philadelphia, before takingin Washington DC, Florida, Texas andChicago. Then I headed south to

Montgomery after FLAC’s NoelineBlackwell – and Northside Com munityLaw Centre’s Colin Daly (now a DistrictCourt judge) – encouraged me to visit civilrights lawyer Morris Dees at the SouthernPoverty Law Center.

A day spent in Morris’ company was atimely remin der of how many parts ofAmerica, especially the South ern States,have yet to recover from the legacy of thecivil rights era.

I discovered this when I witnessed thesecurity at the SPLC’s headquarters inMontgomery. I knew that Morris’s work isusually accompanied by security 24/7 whilein the US. As well as the Klu Klux Klan, hehas taken cases against the Aryan Nationand other organizations.

But when I struggled to open the 300lbdoor of his armoured car, I had all theproof – if ever it were needed – that hatecrime is still a potent force in some partsof American society.

Alabama still bears huge scars of race andpoverty. I witnessed this when I met withcellist Laura Usiskin, the founder anddirector of the Montgomery Music pro -ject, which brings highly skilled musiciansto some of the poorest areas of the Stateto teach children string instruments.

My meeting with Laura led to aperformance of Mahler’s Symphony Num -

Dearbhail McDonald pictured with human rights lawyer Morris Dees at the SPLC'sheadquarters in Montgomery, Alabama


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'Experience of a lifetime' openswindows on social justice in US

by: Dearbhail McDonald *

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Eisenhower Fellows 2012 (L-R) Dearbhail McDonald, Dr William Crawley and Dr Valerie Cummins

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ber One with the Montgomery Sym phonyOrchestra, one of the highlights of myfellowship. That evening alone at theDavis Theater, sight-reading Mahler, waswell worth hauling my violin across theStates for almost three months.

Senior Counsel Turlough O’Donnell isresponsible for some of the worst jet lagand near death experiences I encoun -tered on my fellowship. Turloughdirected me towards Guatemalan lawyerRobert Garcia, the director of LosAngeles’ City Project.

This meant an epic trek back across theflyover states and driving in downtownLA, a feat that would scare the life out ofmost Americans and maybe even rallydrivers. It was worth all the stress: theCity Project is one of the most amazinglegal advocacy projects I have comeacross.

For the last ten years work The CityProject has focused on equal access topark, school, and health resourcesthroughout Los Angeles and Californiaand Garcia is an extraordinaryambassador for those with little or noaccess to justice.

As a volunteer with the Fighting Wordsproject in Dublin (fightingwords.ie), myjaunt north to San Francisco brought meto 826 Valencia, the creative writingproject for children founded by the writerDave Eggers. There I also got to visit TheBeat Within, an inspirational creativewriting project for children and youngadults detained in prisons acrossCalifornia. I was overcome by the powerof those young prisoner’s words, a mustread for anyone involved in devisingpolicy and managing juvenile crime.

During my fellowship I visited world-classfoundations committed to advancingsocial justice through the medium of filmincluding the Ford Foundation andSundance. I also spent a day in BeverlyHills with Participant Media (The Help, A nInconvenient T ruth, Waiting fo rSuperman) to see how they are using filmto generate social justice campaigns. Theresults were astounding.

And it is fascinating to see howorganisations committed to social justice

are not just surviving but thriving in thedigital age; bypassing “traditional” mediato generate publicity and engageaudiences they might have previouslystruggled to reach.

Almost 2,000 people worldwide havecompleted an Eisenhower Fellowship andalmost all whom you meet say that it willtake years to digest the experience. Ihaven’t even begun to.

But I am indebted to FLAC and the manyhomegrown social advocates who assistme in my daily endeavours as a journalistand helped me sculpt the experience of alifetime I will ever forget.

* Dearbhail McDonald is Legal Editor ofthe Irish Independent and a 2012Eisenhower Fellow.


1 3F L a c n e w s l a P r i L – J U n e 2 0 1 2

About the EisenhowerFellowships

The Fellowships, currently chairedby General Colin Powell (Retired),aim to foster emerging leadersfrom around the world who havethe potential to make importantcontributions to their society.

The Fellows come from a widerange of corporate, government,and private sector backgroundsand all have demonstratedoutstanding leadership in theirfields.For more information on theEisenhower Fellowships, go towww.efworld.org.

Campaigning continueson civil legal aid

FLAC’s work in the area of civillegal aid continued apace thisspring. The Legal Aid team

provided training to the CitizensInformation Board (CIB) in Criminaland Civil Legal Aid as part of theBoard's national calendar of trainingevents. The legal aid training took placein Ballyowen Castle CommunityCentre, Lucan in April and in the CIBheadquarters in Dublin city centre inMay. A total of 45 participants attendedthe two sessions. FLAC has receivedvery positive feedback from the twosessions.

Team members attended the Legal AidBoard's family law conference in Junewhich focused on mediation andalternatives to litigation. The courts areheavily overburdened and thus partiesin a dispute are being increasinglyencouraged to explore the mediationroute rather than taking to litigation asof rote.

FLAC has also been writing to TDs ona constituency basis, highlightingcurrent waiting times of the Legal AidBoard law centre in their area with aview to raising awareness of theproblems facing the Board with asignificant increase in demand for itsservices in recent years. The waitingtimes in some counties for people togain access to a solicitor through theLegal Aid Board can be up to 12months. In addition we are providingTDs with the FLACsheet on Civil LegalAid (abridged version) and details ofthe FLAC centre(s) in their area so asthey are aware of our service for theirconstituents.

q The abridged FLAC sheet on CivilLegal Aid is available on the FLACwebsite at ttp://bit.ly/CLAabridged

q A longer version of this FLACsheet with more in-depthinformation is also available onlineat: http://bit.ly/CLAflacsheet

DCU FLAC chairwins President'sAwardCongratulations to DCU FLAC Co-Chair Rebecca Townsend on receivinga special commendation in the DCUPresident’s Awards for Civic Engage -ment 2012. As founder and chairperson of the freelegal advice clinic on campus, Rebeccahas introduced a valuable informationresource to the students of DCU. Theawards were first presented in 2010and they recognise the ongoingcommitment to public service andinvolvement in community work madeby the staff and student body at theuniversity. Individuals who displayed adedication to civic engagement werenominated by their fellow students andtheir achievement acknowledged at anawards ceremony in the Helix in May. Congratulations must also go toRebecca’s Co-Chair, Elaine Marumwho has assisted in making DCU FLACsuch an effective on-campus service.Well done to Rebecca on her prize andall at DCU FLAC for their com -mitment.




PUBLIC INTEREST LAW ALLIANCEU P D A T E

The PILA/PILS Project conference held on 7 June in Belfastshowcased practical and innovative ways to incorporateinternational human rights standards in strategic legal

challenges. The conference was attended by over 100 people,including a wide range of legal practitioners and representativesof non-governmental organisations from Northern Ireland andthe Republic.

The title of the conference was 'Using international standardsbeyond the European Convention on Human Rights' and wasscheduled to feature Asma Jahangir as keynote speaker.Unfortunately Ms Jahangir, a renowned international humanrights lawyer and activist from Pakistan, had to cancel herappearance after she received serious and credible death threatsshortly beforehand.

Dr Gordon Anthony BL, also a Reader at Queen’s UniversityBelfast, spoke about how unincorporated treaties can play anindirect role in domestic UK proceedings. This potential to useinternational standards indirectly was mirrored by Michael LynnBL’s presentation. He gave the example of the Convention on theRights of Persons with Disabilities (which Ireland has ratified), andhow it can assist courts with the interpretation of Irishconstitutional rights. FLAC Senior Solicitor Michael Farrell stoodin for Asma Jahangir, and his presentation considered otheropportunities to use or promote international standards throughCouncil of Europe and United Nations instruments. Examples ofthese instruments are the European Social Charter (Council ofEurope), and visits and reports by international rapporteurs andcommissioners.

In the afternoon there were three breakout sessions that enabledattendees to flesh out and debate the practical ideas from themorning presentations. These sessions were focused on usinginternational human rights law to protect and advance economicand social rights, to protect and advance non-discrimination and

equality; and on how lawyers and NGOs can collaborate toincrease the use of international human rights law in the courts.

Feedback from the conference was overwhelming positive,including many comments on the usefulness of the speakers’comparisons of the different situations in the North and South.

PILA is particularly grateful for the contributions of the speakersfrom the Republic who travelled to Belfast for the event – ourthanks go to Eilis Barry BL, Moya de Paor, Michael Farrell, MichaelLynn BL, Elizabeth Mitrow and Judge Tom O’Donnell.

Papers from the conference will shortly be available at bothwww.pila.ie and www.pilsni.org.

Conference offers innovative examples onusing international law

Gearoid O Cuinn (Ceartas), Carol Balfe (Amnesty International Ireland) andMaeve Regan (PILA Legal Officer) at the launch of PILA’s Progress Report.

Ciara McKenna BL, Alan Brady BL and Lorraine Lally at the launch of PILA’s Progress Report.

Michael Farrell, FLAC Senior Solicitor addressing the joint PILA/PILS Projectconference.

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FOn 23 May 2012, PILA co-hosted aseminar on aftercare withBarnardos. The popular seminar

was attended by around 90 people,including an advisor to the Minister forChildren. The issue of aftercare issignificant as “young people leaving thecare system are falling through the gapsbecause of inconsistencies in theavailability and quality of services acrossthe country.” Barnardos say that the issueneeds to be urgently addressed and alegislative framework must be imple -mented.

The seminar was held in round-table formwith a panel of experts, including Geoffrey

Shannon, Norah Gibbons and SusanCarey BL, giving succinct clearpresentations on the law on after-carehere and possible reform. PILA hadpreviously set up a working group oflawyers for Barnardos to research the lawin relation to aftercare in otherjurisdictions. The report of the workinggroup then formed the basis of thisseminar. Susan Carey BL presented thefindings of the group to the seminar.Barnardos is calling for reform of the lawso that there is an obligation on the Stateto provide after-care to young peopleleaving the care system.

PILA and Barnardos co-hostseminar on aftercare

In May, PILA was delighted to publishits Progress Report, which details theproject’s work and achievements

since 2009. The Report was presented atan event on 10 May that also officiallylaunched PILA’s new website, which hasbeen live since March 2012. The eventalso gave lawyers and organisation staffwho work with PILA the opportunity tomeet one another in a friendly andinformal setting.

The Progress Report explains PILA’swork and operations as well as its guidingprinciples and provides testimonials fromorganisations and lawyers involved withthe project alongside practical casestudies. It also features key facts andfigures; between 2009 and May 2012,PILA has facilitated over 100 legal adviceand litigation support referrals, 13 lawreform working groups and 24 legaleducation sessions. Some 521 NGO staffhave attended PILA’s legal education

sessions and there are now over 1500PILA Bulletin readers. To subscribe to thefortnightly Bulletin, simply [email protected] .

The May event featured an interesting andentertaining presentation by JossSaunders, General Counsel of Oxfam GB.Joss described innovative ways thatlawyers can contribute their skills probono domestically and internationally,using examples from Oxfam’s work. Healso commented that in his view there arethree different “waves” of pro bonopractice – the first being lawyers givingadvice on any topic (on which they mightnot be expert), the second being lawyersgiving advice on their specialist topic andthe third being lawyers giving strategicadvice that to advance the law in thepublic interest. PILA thinks it isnoteworthy that, using Joss’ example,FLAC (through its Legal Advice Centres,specialist clinics and PILA) is directlyresponsible for all three waves of pro bonoin Ireland.Joss Saunders (General Counsel at Oxfam GB) giving his presentation on innovative ways lawyers can work

pro bono at the launch of PILA’s Progress Report.

More practitionerssign up to PILA pro

bono register in 2012PILA issued a call in May through itsBulletin for new lawyers for its ProBono Register. PILA has alreadyreceived a great response to the call,with solicitors and barristers withvaried expertise and skills getting intouch shortly after the Bulletin wentout. PILA now has over 100 lawyerson the register. The call fromorganisations with which PILA workscontinues to grow steadily and PILA isalways delighted to hear from lawyerswho would like to be on the register.Please email [email protected] ifyou’d like more information about thePro Bono Referral Scheme andRegister, or visit www.pila.ie.

Since March, PILA has made around30 referrals for legal advice, pre-litigation advice, law reform workinggroups and legal education sessions.The referrals were made to solicitorsin large law firms, specialist non-commercial firms and barristers.Trainee solicitors have also becomeinvolved in law reform workinggroups. The number of requests foradvice continues to grow asorganisations get a greater sense ofthe kind of support PILA can provideto them.

Progress Report shows huge probono developments since 2009




FLAC is proud to learn of thenomination of Iseult O’Malley SC forappointment to the High Court. Iseult

has a long association with FLAC, firstvolunteering in 1985 at the former office inNorth Earl Street while still a law student.Since then she has remained actively involvedwith the organisation, most notably in herrole as a member of FLAC’s National Councilsince 1990. The High Court appoint ment istestament to Iseult’s distin guished legalcareer, primarily in the field of criminal law.Iseult was called to the Bar in 1987 followingher legal education at Trinity College, Dublinand the King’s Inns, and was made SeniorCounsel in 2007.

FLAC would also like to congratulateManaging Solicitor of Northside Com munityLaw Centre, Colin Daly, on his recentappointment as a judge of the District Court.Both Iseult and Colin will be greatly missedby colleagues and friends at FLAC andNCLC, but we wish them both success intheir new roles.

Congratulations are equally due to Paul McDermott SC and Colm Mac Eochaidh SC ontheir respective appointments to the HighCourt, both of whom have generously giventheir time to FLAC and to PILA over theyears.

UN human rights expert on extreme povertyissues follow-up report after Ireland visit

Judicial appointmentfor FLAC Council

Member

In June 2012, Magdalena SepúlvedaCarmona, the UN Special Rapporteuron Extreme Poverty and Human

Rights, presented her follow-up report oncountry visits to the UN Human RightsCouncil. Ms Sepúlveda visited Ireland inJanuary 2011 and her initial reportreminded the Government of its obliga -tions to comply with human rightsstandards, viewing the crisis as “anopportunity for Ireland to put humanrights at the heart of the recovery”. Sherecommended that the Governmentincorporate international human rightsinstruments into domestic law as well asstrengthening the social protection systemand infrastructure so people could accesstheir economic, social and cultural rights.

The Special Rapporteur then issued acountry-specific questionnaire to the Irishgovernment and relevant civil societystakeholders to assess any progress madeon her recommendations. FLAC’s res -ponse outlined the changes made inBudget 2012 and the lack of progress onissues including delays in accessing civillegal aid, problems relating to theadministration of the social protectionsystem and the lack of action on personaldebt issues.

In her statement to the UN Human RightsCouncil, Ms Sepúlveda noted that thefollow-up report on her country visits didnot reflect the Irish Government’s lateresponse but that the response and theGovernment’s comments on the draftreport “will be central to futureengagement”. She commended the

Government on raising the lowerthreshold for payment of Universal SocialCharge in Budget 2012 but noted withconcern the increase in Value Added Taxwhich she felt would impact on peoplewith lower incomes.

Ms Sepúlveda also raised concerns aboutcuts to social protection as well theapparent lack of any human rights impactanalysis. She noted the “threat” that theapplication of the Habitual ResidenceCondition posed to the “enjoyment ofhuman rights by members of vulnerablegroups, particularly people experiencinghomelessness, Travellers, asylum-seekers,migrant workers and returning Irishmigrants”. Consequently, she called for areview of the impact of the condition. Inrelation to direct provision system forthose seeking asylum, while noting thather recommendation for a system reviewhad not been followed, she welcomed theproposed introduction of a singledetermination procedure in the upcomingImmigration, Residence and ProtectionBill to reduce delays and urged theGovernment to keep this commitmentand “ensure the new system is groundedin human rights principles”.

ERA coalition members presenting a petition to Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter on 10 May. Thepetition called on the Minister to ensure that the new Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission

(IHREC) is a renewal of the country’s human rights infrastructure, not a regression.

In related news, FLAC Senior Solicitor Michael Farrell presented a paper to a seminar of the EuropeanCommittee against Racism and Intolerance(ECRI) in Strasbourg, just prior to the publication of thedraft IHREC bill which outlines the history of both bodies; the background to the merger and theWorking Group’s recommendations. The paper is available to download at bit.ly/MAa0Ky

2012 women’s mini-marathon team – FLAC

FLAC is very grateful to the runners, joggersand walkers who took part in the 2012Women's Mini-Marathon to raise funds forFLAC. Under the banner "improving accessto justice – one step at a time", they bravedthe sweltering June heat (the only hot daythat month!) over 10 km of Dublin's streets.

A big thank-you goes to Team FLAC 2012:Mary Guy, Niamh McEvilly, CatherineMoran, Brid O'Brien, Aine Walsh, LorraineWalsh, Eileen Woods and the others whoran for FLAC. We rely on voluntary workand donations to maintain our service so themoney and goodwill raised by this elite teamis so appreciated. Well done!

The follow-up report of the UN SpecialRapporteur on Extreme Poverty andHuman Rights is available online on thewebsite of the UN Office for the HighCom missioner for Human Rights at:http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Poverty/Pages/SRExtremePovertyIndex.aspx.
