FLAC - the Free Legal Advice Centres

22/05/2026

As National Volunteering Week draws to a close, a huge thank you to all our FLAC clinic volunteers for providing every time you volunteer. You are all amazing!

20/05/2026

The theme of National Volunteering Week this week is “From Every Corner, For Every Cause”. Our FLAC phone clinic volunteers, based all across the country, give up their time every month to help those who need it most.

18/05/2026

This week is National Volunteering Week. To celebrate the impact of our amazing FLAC clinic volunteers, throughout the week we will be sharing quotes from some of the people they have helped

15/05/2026

📣 FLAC and the Human Rights Consortium have published a joint statement on the new Council of Europe political declaration on migration. The full statement can be read here: https://www.flac.ie/news/2026/05/15/hands-off-the-referee-civil-society-says-political/

Civil society organisations in the UK and Ireland are concerned that the new Council of Europe political declaration on migration released on the 15th May at a Council of Ministers summit in Moldova reflects a growing pattern of political pressure on how human rights are interpreted and applied.

While the declaration reaffirms commitment to the European Convention on Human Rights, it places much greater emphasis on how States expect rights to be applied in practice, particularly in migration cases.

This is reflected in how governments are presenting the declaration. The UK Government has described it as creating what it calls an “updated interpretation of Articles 3 and 8 of the ECHR” and said it will support “a more modern interpretation” to help courts ensure that people cannot “avoid deportation.” It has framed this as part of “reforming the way the ECHR is interpreted” and suggested the declaration will “help courts interpret how the ECHR is applied” in line with government priorities.

This highlights a clear and troubling contradiction. The European Court of Human Rights and domestic courts are independent and cannot be directed by governments on how to interpret the law. Framing political agreements as a way to reshape how courts apply rights blurs the line between independent legal judgment and political expectation. This is a dangerous development, because it normalises political pressure on what should remain an impartial and independent process. This reflects wider concerns raised by experts that the process risks placing improper pressure on the Court and narrowing protections over time.

For people in the UK and Ireland, this matters. The Convention is not abstract. It shapes everyday rights in areas like policing, healthcare, housing and access to justice. Where courts are placed under pressure, even indirectly, to defer more to government decisions or apply higher thresholds before protections apply, there is a real risk that rights become harder to access in practice.

There is also little evidence to support the idea that existing human rights protections are preventing deportations in practice. Research from the University of Oxford’s Bonavero Institute has found that successful human rights-based appeals against deportation are rare. Available data shows that only around 0.7% of foreign national offenders succeeded in preventing deportation on human rights grounds, with similar rates remaining very low over time.

There is also a wider concern about precedent. Once rights are treated as conditional for one group such as migrants or refugees, that approach can spread, making protections less secure for everyone over time.

In Northern Ireland in particular, the risks are especially serious. The European Convention is woven into the Good Friday Agreement and underpins rights protections that have been central to peace and stability. Any attempt to weaken, reinterpret or selectively apply those rights risks undermining that foundation.

In the Republic of Ireland, the Convention also plays a central role in guiding legislation and public decision making. A shift toward a more restrictive or politically influenced approach to interpreting rights risks weakening safeguards that people rely on in their everyday interactions with the State.

This declaration does not change the law overnight. But it reflects a clear trend towards greater political pressure on courts, more restrictive approaches to rights, and a move away from the principle that human rights apply equally to everyone.

Kevin Hanratty, Director of the Human Rights Consortium external link, said:

“In Northern Ireland, the European Convention on Human Rights is part of the foundation of our constitutional settlement. It is essential that courts remain independent and free from political pressure in how they apply those rights. Trying to influence how courts interpret those rights is like trying to intimidate a referee in a football match. The rules are clear, and the referee’s job is to apply them fairly and independently. Governments should leave the courts to do their job. This approach risks eroding the strength and resilience of the Convention system over time. The more governments seek to shape how rights are interpreted through political processes, the greater the pressure on a system that depends on independence to function effectively.”

Eilis Barry, Chief Executive of FLAC, said:

“It is concerning that the declaration is seeking to influence the European Court of Human Rights on its interpretation in relation to the human rights of certain categories of people. This would appear to be a move away from the idea of universal human rights which is the foundation of the ECHR. The evidence simply does not support the narrative that human rights law is preventing deportations in any widespread way. When political processes begin to shape how those rights are understood, it undermines confidence in the European Court of Human Rights Court which is supposed to act as a safeguard for individuals whose rights and freedoms are not secured at the national level.”

We suggest that if governments are serious about improving how national courts engage with Strasbourg, the Declaration itself points to a practical and principled route forward by encouraging states to consider ratifying Protocol No. 16 to the Convention. This mechanism enables courts to seek guidance on complex questions of human rights law, strengthening dialogue without compromising judicial independence. Political declarations that appear to signal preferred outcomes risk doing the opposite. We therefore urge the UK and Ireland to follow this recommendation, ratify Protocol No. 16, and embed it domestically as a constructive alternative.

Civil society organisations in the UK and Ireland are concerned that the new Council of Europe political declaration on migration released on the 15th May at a Council of Ministers summit in Moldova …

13/05/2026

“The Legal Aid Board is facing a deepening resource crisis and significant backlogs as internal documents reveal serious concerns with meeting mandatory new demands…”

Today’s article in The Currency highlights the extent to which Ireland’s system of civil legal aid is in crisis. Earlier this year, FLAC warned the Oireachtas Justice Committee that Ireland’s system of civil legal aid may go from crisis to collapse altogether during 2026 (because of the huge increase in the LAB’s workload arising from the implementation of the EU Migration Pact) if urgent action is not taken.

The Currency reports that:
“Minutes of the governance meeting in June 2025 show that LAB was experiencing general significant resourcing-related difficulties, resulting in large backlogs and waiting lists across many areas of work.

As of the end of March 2026, the average longest waiting time for a first consultation across the law centre network was 23 weeks.

There were some locations with significantly longer maximum waiting times, such as the law centre in Sligo where the waiting time was up to 60 weeks. The longest waiting time at centres in Ballymun and Ennis was also over 50 weeks, the latest data shows.

A major contributor to the general backlog is the inability to attract and engage enough solicitors for private practitioners’ panels. While most civil legal aid work is carried out by LAB solicitors, it also heavily relies on referrals to solicitors in private practice to keep up with cases.”

These findings echo those which are contained in the Minority Report which emerged from the Civil Legal Aid Review.

The Minority Report contains clear, practical and cost-effective recommendations for resolving the present crisis and creating a legal aid system which prevents and resolves the legal problems individual and communities experience as early (and efficiently) as possible. The infrastructure needed to resolve the legal aid crisis is already in place. The Legal Aid Board and the Citizens Information Board have networks of centres all around the country, and the small cohort of independent law centres provide models of community and targeted services for disadvantaged individuals and groups. What is envisioned is a tiered-approach where a range of different services and services delivery models respond to different kinds and different levels of legal need. Targeted, early and preventative services need to be fully mainstreamed into the Legal Aid Board and Citizens Information Board services.

Access to justice is, and has to be regarded as, an investment. For every euro spent on access to justice there will be savings and benefits for the individual, communities, the courts and society. It needs to be regarded as a vital and essential social service akin to healthcare and education.

The Legal Aid Board is facing a deepening resource crisis and significant backlogs as internal documents reveal serious concerns with meeting mandatory new demands under the EU Migration and Asylum Pact and legal representation for sexual assault victims. The board is an independent, publicly-funded...

12/05/2026

⚖ Civil society organisations, academics and human rights activists from Northern Ireland and Ireland have come together to write jointly to the UK Prime Minister and the Taoiseach, urging both Governments to publicly reaffirm their commitment to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and to resist any moves that would weaken its protections.

The joint letter, signed by over 90 civil society groups, academics and activists based in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, has been sent ahead of a Council of Europe meeting taking place later this week in Chişinău, Moldova on 14–15 May, where states will consider a proposed Political Declaration relating to migration and human rights.

The signatories warn that the proposals currently under discussion risk undermining the universality of human rights protections and weakening the authority and independence of the European Court of Human Rights.

You can read the full letter here: https://www.flac.ie/news/2026/05/12/groups-north-and-south-of-ireland-unite-to-warn-uk/

The letter was organised by FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres), based in the Republic of Ireland and the Human Rights Consortium based in Northern Ireland.

07/05/2026

• FLAC had raised concerns that the proposals in the General Scheme of the Civil Reform Bill constitute a radical curtailment of access to judicial review, and are likely to have a disproportionately negative impact on ordinary people that FLAC represent trying to establish and vindicate their legal, constitutional or fundamental rights in relation to very basic public services like social housing, emergency accommodation, additional educational supports, and access to basic social welfare payments.

• On foot of a meeting requested by FLAC, Department of Justice officials have provided FLAC with details of a number of clarifications and proposed changes to the Civil Reform Bill which, if implemented, could address some of the issues with the Bill. The changes are, however, still ‘subject to drafting and Government approval’.

• FLAC still has very significant concerns about the Bill and how it may block cases taken on behalf of disadvantaged groups. It has called for further consultation before it is advanced further.

FLAC had raised concerns that the proposals in the General Scheme of the Civil Reform Bill constitute a radical curtailment of access to judicial review, and are likely to have a disproportionately …

30/04/2026

📰 Ireland’s system of civil legal aid is “in crisis” and President Catherine Connolly’s comments about continuing “unmet legal needs” here “could not be more timely”, the Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC) said.

In a statement on Wednesday, FLAC Chief Executive Eilis Barry welcomed the comments made by Connolly at a law event in Dublin.

The President referred to the publication in July 2025 of “the long-awaited” review on civil legal aid and to “the unmet legal needs which unfortunately continue to exist”.

https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/2026/04/29/free-legal-advice-centres-
welcome-presidents-timely-comments-on-unmet-legal-needs/

Civil legal aid system is ‘in crisis’ says Flac

29/04/2026

⚖️ In her speech, President Connolly highlighted the “publication of the long-awaited ‘Review of Legal Aid’ last July” and the “the unmet legal needs which unfortunately continue to exist” in Ireland. She cited research which is included in the Civil Legal Aid Minority Report about the cost of not addressing unmet legal need for individuals and society.

“The review comprehensively lays out the barriers to justice and the costs of not providing access to justice. It is crystal clear from the research presented that it is the vulnerable who suffer the most when deprived of access to justice. In this context, World Bank research states that ‘access to justice is no less important to equitable and sustainable economic development than good schools, functioning hospitals and passable roads.’

President Connolly noted that the “Review of Civil Legal Aid …came on foot of criticism [of Ireland’s system of civil legal aid] from a number of quarters, including eight international human rights organisations.” She highlighted the human rights protections which apply in Ireland under European and international law, and the requirement for the State to provide civil legal aid under the European Convention on Human Rights:

The Constitution, however, does not exist in a vacuum, but is part of an array of international conventions, courts and infrastructure, including the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights, the European Court of Justice and international human rights bodies. These entities, one way or another, have had a very significant and profound effect on our own legislation and on Government policy.

Indeed, there have been a number of landmark judgments on a range of human rights issues such as access to legal aid…There is no doubt that the law can be used as a positive force for change.”

The President highlighted the positive impact on civil society organisations such as FLAC and independent and community law centres in promoting access to justice in Ireland:

“Significantly, and very helpfully, we have a number of organisations such as the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, the Free Legal Advice Centre, and independent and community law centres throughout the country who do enormous work, continuously highlighting the gap between our Constitutional provisions and the lived experience of many.”

LAC Chief Executive, Eilis Barry, welcomed the comments made by President Connolly and stated:

“The President’s comments could not be more timely and welcome. It has now been over a year since the reports from the Civil Legal Aid review were submitted to the Minister for Justice. As the Chief Justice commented in January, at a joint FLAC/ TCD law school conference on reform of the legal aid system, reform of the civil legal aid system is “frustratingly slow”. We are disappointed that there has been no progress on reforming the civil legal aid system nor has any timeline been provided by government for responding to the reports and reforming the civil legal aid system. Urgent action from Government is needed to avoid a collapse of the civil legal aid system.

Ireland’s system of civil legal aid is in crisis and at risk of collapse. We need action on the review as a matter of urgency."

President Catherine Connolly spoke yesterday (28 April) at the launch of the first Dublin branch of the University of Galway Business and Law Alumni. FLAC welcomes her comments about the recent …

16/04/2026

FLAC very much welcomes the publication of consolidated social welfare legislation. Access to legal information is a requirement of the right of access to justice.

The Social Welfare Acts impact the lives and rights of hundreds of thousands of people in Ireland. Access to up-to-date legislation is vitally important to ensure people are aware of their rights and entitlements.

The consolidated legislation will also be of significant benefit to lawyers and advocates working in the area of social welfare.