Flac

Ireland's leading legal rights charity has hit out at the "entrenched cliché that legal aid is just ‘more money for lawyers’" as it warned the civil legal aid system is at risk of collapse. FLAC's chief executive, Eilis Barry, appeared before the joint Oireachtas committee on just

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has awarded €40,000 to a Deaf man who faced discrimination in a recruitment process after finding that a statutory €13,000 limit on compensation was inadequate under EU law. Noel O'Connell, who was represented by FLAC, succeeded in a disability disc

Government officials are still considering the recommendations of two rival reports on civil legal aid reform published more than six months ago, Jim O'Callaghan has said. The justice, home affairs and migration minister told a major conference on Monday that reform was on its way, but said he was u

Ireland's civil legal aid system could be pushed "from a state of crisis to one of collapse" this year unless "radical reform" is implemented, FLAC has warned as a major conference gets under way. The independent legal, human rights and equality organisation is today hosting a conference on civil le

FLAC has recognised dozens of volunteers and human rights defenders with its annual Golden Pin awards. The awards are presented every year as part of FLAC's annual justice lecture, delivered last week by renowned human rights lawyer and academic Professor Colm Ó Cinnéide.

A new “know your rights” guide for trans and non-binary people has been published by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), in collaboration with ShoutOut and Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI). Know Your Rights: A Guide for Trans and Non-Binary People is the first compre

Renowned human rights lawyer and academic Professor Colm Ó Cinnéide will deliver FLAC's annual justice lecture next week. This year's event celebrates the 250th anniversary of the birth of Daniel O'Connell and will include a reading from his speeches by actor Stephen Rea.

FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres) is seeking lawyers to support its free legal advice clinics by volunteering as little as two hours a month. The independent legal, human rights and equality organisation is hosting its next volunteer induction on Tuesday 30 September.

A beauty salon has been ordered to pay €1,500 in compensation after discriminating against a Traveller mother and her two daughters. FLAC represented the mother and daughters, who have not been named, in the proceedings before the Workplace Relations Commission.

Proposed new equality legislation should also ban discrimination on the grounds of socio-economic status and gender identity, FLAC has said. The legal rights group appeared before the joint Oireachtas equality committee yesterday morning as part of the pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme

The legal advocacy group which led a Supreme Court battle on behalf of a bereaved family denied access to a social welfare payment has welcomed the passage of legislation righting that wrong. The Social Welfare (Bereaved Partners and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025 has now been approved by

FLAC has called on the government to deal with the "civil legal aid crisis" as it revealed enormous demand for its services in 2024. The NGO's annual report for 2024, published today, shows that its telephone information and referral line answered 11,435 queries last year, including a record high of

The social protection minister has come under further pressure to justify why legislation brought in response to a Supreme Court ruling will remove social welfare entitlements of divorced and separated lone parents. The Bereaved Partner's Pension Bill 2025 has been introduced by the government in re

Social welfare legislation introduced in response to a landmark Supreme Court judgment proposes to make unnecessary changes which "may be inconsistent" with the judgment itself, FLAC has said. The Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025 was drawn up by the government in response to the

The Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of a Traveller family who challenged a Circuit Court decision by way of judicial review instead of a statutory appeal. The family had initially pursued both a judicial review and a statutory appeal following a Circuit Court ruling which overturned a finding in