Legal Aid

A root and branch review of the provision of civil legal aid is urgently needed, the Oireachtas justice committee has heard . Eilis Barry, CEO of FLAC, joined a range of legal experts and representatives of the legal profession this morning at a committee meeting on the issue of "Access to Justice a

The chairperson of the Legal Aid Board has backed calls for fundamental and ambitious reform to the family law system. Philip O'Leary said he supported the findings of the Oireachtas justice committee's report on the family law system, which chairman Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said ma

Legal aid for vulnerable migrant children who have been separated from their parents has been reinstated in England and Wales. Non-asylum immigration matters were removed from the legal aid scheme under major reforms in 2013, but ministers have now reinstated the scheme for under-18s who are not in

Far too many people are representing themselves in family law proceedings, legal rights group FLAC has warned. The Oireachtas justice committee yesterday published its report on the family law system, which chairman Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said made “abundantly clear that the

The €1 million funding boost for the Legal Aid Board is not enough to allow for a "meaningful review" of the civil legal aid scheme, legal rights group FLAC has warned. The Board has been allocated €42.2 million in Budget 2020, which includes an increase of €1 million on the previous

There should be a "legal aid audit" when any new legislation is passed, the head of legal rights group FLAC has said.

A new report from the International Bar Association (IBA) Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee and the World Bank claims that improving legal aid services is as important for economic growth as providing functioning hospitals, schools and roads. The report, A Tool for Justice: A Cost Benefit An

Expanding the scope of legal aid is a better way of increasing access to justice than promoting greater uptake of legal expenses insurance, the chair of the Bar Council of Northern Ireland has said. Bar Chair Sarah Ramsey spoke at the launch of a new report on legal expenses insurance and access to

Civil legal aid should be widened to include areas of the law such as housing and homelessness, the Chief Justice of Ireland, Mr Frank Clarke, has said. Ireland's top judge made the remarks at the launch of the Mercy Law Resource Centre's 2018 annual report, which was streamed live over the internet

The impact of savage cuts in civil legal aid since 2012 has been so devastating that the UK’s most senior judge yesterday felt it necessary to broadcast an appeal for a legal charity. “I know how intimidating the civil and family courts can be for people without legal knowledge of help,&

The Bar of Ireland will more closely monitor the level of unpaid fees owed to junior barristers under the "antiquated" District Court legal aid scheme following a unanimous decision of the Bar AGM. Under a revised Code of Conduct, barristers will be required to submit details of outstanding fees owe

Victims of discrimination in England and Wales are being denied their fundamental right to justice and perpetrators are going unchallenged because of failures in the legal aid system, the human rights watchdog has warned. An inquiry into legal aid for victims of discrimination by the Equality and Hu

Lord Neuberger has warned that further cuts in the justice system will lead to a “breakdown of the rule of law”, The Times reports. The former president of the UK Supreme Court said the rule of law was “absolutely fundamental” but had been taken for granted in the UK followin

Declining access to legal aid in England and Wales has been highlighted in a United Nations report on the UK, which describes the budget as having been "decimated". Legal aid has been dramatically reduced in England and Wales since 2012. The LASPO Act (Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offende

The Department of Justice has announced the appointment of 12 lawyers to the Civil Legal Services Appeals Panels, which considers appeals regarding the granting of legal aid in civil cases. Ciaran Harvey, Jim Kitson, Charles Redpath and Htaik Win have been appointed as presiding members.