16/06/2026
Landmark legal challenge of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995
Community Law & Mediation’s client has been granted leave to bring a landmark judicial review challenging the refusal of legal aid for his Equal Status case before the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).
Our client is a 33-year-old Deafblind man with Usher Syndrome, a rare genetic condition that affects hearing, vision and balance. He had started a complaint to the WRC alleging discrimination on the basis of disability and a failure to make reasonable accommodation. He cannot afford to pay for a lawyer, so he applied for legal aid. His application was refused on the basis that cases before the WRC fall outside the scope of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995.
Given the nature of his disability, the complexity of anti-discrimination law and the procedures before the WRC, he would not be able to prepare his case and effectively represent himself before the WRC.
In taking this judicial review, our client is seeking an order quashing the decision to refuse his application for legal aid. The case argues that section 27 of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 is invalid, inconsistent with the Constitution, and incompatible with the State’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.
This case illustrates, in practical terms, many of the issues identified in the Government’s review of the outdated Civil Legal Aid Scheme.
It also exposes the failure to uphold and apply the principles of access to justice established in the Airey v Ireland case of 50 years ago.
Check out articles published in the Irish Times, the Independent, and Breaking News Ireland today.
