Irish Times editorial urges ‘serious consideration’ of FLAC proposals

Eilis Barry

Today’s editorial follows the launch this week of FLAC’s 2017 Annual Report, which showed that over 25,000 people received advice from its network of free legal advice centres last year.

Housing advice featured most prominently among the inquiries to FLAC.

The Irish Times said today: “Eilis Barry, the chief executive of Flac, said there was a significant unmet legal need in relation to housing and homelessness. She highlighted the need to provide a clear basis in law for refusing to make an order for possession in the case of mortgage default involving the family home.

“She said there was also a need to implement the commitment in the programme for government to establish a dedicated court or tribunal to deal with problem mortgage arrears on a case-by-case basis with a view to proposing resolutions and to ensure that legal aid was available to people facing family home repossessions by financial institutions or local authorities.

“Flac has come up with a draft amendment to the Civil Legal Aid Act which it is asking Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan to implement to ensure that legal aid is available for families facing repossession of their family homes. It deserves serious consideration.”