FAILURE TO address unmet legal needs constitutes a breach of the Constitution and Ireland’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, according to the president of the Law Society.
In the forward to a booklet launched yesterday by the society’s Task Force on Civil Legal Aid, James McGuill said a range of legal aid schemes was in place, and the aim of the publication was to make information on them available to lawyers, community organisations and the public. The task force would be considering the question of unmet legal needs later.
He said: “Without in any way taking from the concerns we have about unmet legal needs, Ireland has much to be proud of about the standard of civil legal aid available under these schemes.”
He said this had much to do with the professionalism of solicitors and barristers who were prepared to undertake work on a legal aid basis.
The booklet outlines eligibility criteria for legal aid, the type of cases that qualify, access to priority services in certain legal emergencies, and schemes providing legal aid that fall outside the original scheme.
The Minister for Social and Family Affairs acknowledged that there were unmet legal needs. Launching the booklet, Mary Hanafin said: “Access to legal advice and access to court was one of the key tenets of social inclusion in this country.”
She praised the booklet for informing people about what services were available, and stressed that in an economic downturn it was important that lawyers remained focused on their commitments to their clients.
Anne Colley, chairwoman of the Legal Aid Board, said access to justice was relatively easy to ensure for the better-off in society and for those with good education and communication skills who had the confidence to engage with the legal system and its various institutions.
Ms Colley said she was aware of the lack of information within the profession about the range of legal issues the board could provide advice and representation on.
A common misconception was that the Legal Aid Board could only offer advice on family law matters. This was not the case, and legal aid and advice was available in all areas of civil law other than a limited number of defined excluded areas. The preponderance of family law cases was a response to demand rather than the result of exclusions.
Colin Daly, chairman of the Task Force on Civil Legal Aid and a solicitor with the Northside Community Law Centre in Dublin, said the booklet would be available in libraries, citizens’ advice centres and solicitors’ offices.