Legal aid clients not told of loss

Clients of a legal aid centre whose records were thrown out with domestic rubbish were left in the dark when they inquired about their cases, it has emerged.

An inquiry is under way into how the confidential records of clients of Ormond Quay law centre ended up in a rubbish dump last July without being shredded, The Irish Times reported yesterday.

Now it has emerged that at least three clients who sought information about their cases were not told what had happened to their records, which included confidential personal and court information.

One man was told in an unsigned letter that "we do no appear to have any papers or letters from you".

The letter went unsigned after one member of staff refused to sign it and another warned there could be "repercussions at a later date" if it were signed, according to correspondence seen by The Irish Times.

The man, who was facing a judicial separation case taken by his wife, applied to the law centre for legal services in November 2006. In February this year, he rang the centre and was told there was no record of his request. In April, he applied again and delivered the application form to the centre by hand.

In June his wife's case proceeded against him and final orders were made. When he made further inquiries in September, he was told there were no records relating to him or any court proceedings.

In another case, a client involved in a landlord-tenant dispute wrote to the Legal Aid Board last August to seek access to his records under freedom of information.

The person had applied for advice and representation at Ormond Quay in October 2006. However, staff were unable to find any records relating to his application and suggested to FoI officials that they may have been among the documentation thrown out with domestic rubbish in July this year.

In a third case, solicitors acting for a mother in relation to an immigration matter contacted the centre about her application for legal assistance.

The woman had been told she could not be helped due to a lack of resources.

However, no record could be found of her application because the documentation was among that thrown out in July.

The chief executive of the Legal Aid Board, Moling Ryan, confirmed that an FoI application had been received from a client of Ormond Quay, which is being closed down shortly after 25 years in existence.