Flac

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

A series of events next week will highlight how pro bono legal assistance can help the legal world and community and social justice organisations advance their shared interest in access to justice, equality and human rights. Ireland's annual Pro Bono Week, running from 9–13 June 2025 as part o

FLAC was able to answer just over a fifth of the 50,000 calls to its legal information and referral telephone line last year, according to its latest annual report. Early legal assistance was provided in response to just 12,472 queries, with the NGO calling on the government to establish a properly-

Deloitte partner Róisín Fitzpatrick has been appointed as interim chairperson of legal rights charity FLAC. Ms Fitzpatrick, a solicitor who works in Deloitte's corporate immigration team, takes the reins from David Fennelly BL, who has served as chairperson since 2021.

FLAC has given its backing to only one of the two proposed constitutional amendments being put to voters next month, describing the wording of the proposed care amendment as "implicitly sexist". The independent human rights and equality organisation today set out its legal analysis of the extent to

FLAC has repeated its call for the proposed family and care amendments to the Constitution to bring in "enforceable rights" rather than only symbolic change. The access to justice charity has also urged government ministers to publish draft legislation spelling out proposed new rights for diverse fa

The wording of the government's proposed constitutional amendments on family and care may remove "offensive" references to women but risk introducing new "harmful stereotypes" about disabled people, an influential legal rights group has warned. FLAC has written to the Taoiseach, the equality ministe

A hotel has been ordered to pay €11,000 to a family who suffered unlawful anti-Traveller discrimination when they were refused access for confirmation celebrations. Margaret O'Sullivan, her sister and her partner, who were represented by FLAC, made discrimination complaints to the Workplace Rel

Legal rights charity FLAC has said it "unequivocally supports" next week's one-day strike by criminal barristers. The Bar Council has called on criminal barristers to withdraw services on 3 October 2023 to pile pressure on government ministers over fee restoration, with fees remaining below 2002 lev

Legal rights group FLAC is seeking lawyers to volunteer in its free legal advice clinics. Those qualified to practice law in Ireland who are looking for an exciting new challenge this autumn and have two hours to spare each month are invited to fill out FLAC's short expression of interest form.

At least 4,400 people were unable to get through to FLAC's telephone line in 2022 due to overwhelming demand, the independent legal, equality and human rights organisation's latest annual report reveals. Mr Justice Frank Clarke, the former Chief Justice and chair of the civil legal aid review group,

The Supreme Court will tomorrow begin hearing arguments on the timing of its proposed declaration on the unconstitutionality of the laws governing elections for Seanad University Panels. In April this year, the court ruled that the Oireachtas had failed to meet a constitutional obligation to extend