Justice 'unattainable for too many', warns Flac

Free Legal Advice Centres CEO Eilis Barry. Picture: Conor McCabe Photography.

The Free Legal Advice Centre has said access to justice "is unattainable for too many" as it saw the number of inquiries it received relating to employment law increase by almost 40% last year.

Flac's 2020 Annual Report reveals it received 12,268 inquiries to its helpline in 2020. 

Its chief executive Eilis Barry said: "Employment law queries rose by 39% and, during one week in May, exceeded the family law queries for the first time in Flac's history. 

It is a matter of ongoing concern that there is no legal aid available in employment cases — and for a large percentage of the callers, there was nowhere to send them for legal assistance."

Of the queries related to employment law, 16% related to redundancy — almost triple the number of calls on the subject in 2019, with 326 calls in 2020 compared to 112 the year before.

Some 14% of employment-law calls related to dismissal, with the number of such calls increasing by around 40% compared to the previous year. A further 10% included grievance procedures, with call numbers up 8% on 2019.

Another 30% of calls relating to employment law included an issue about the terms of a contract, with call numbers increasing 6% compared to 2019.

The report states: "During the initial months of Covid, the staff and volunteers on the phoneline were almost overwhelmed with complex new queries from people who had lost their jobs, had their wages or hours cut, were unable to pay rent, or were facing evictions. Some had been unable to work because of illness or health and safety concerns or lack of childcare."

There was also a marked increase in family law queries, representing 27.6% of the total raised, an increase of 14% in the number of calls compared to 2019.

The report attributes this to "increased family tensions when spouses and partners had to reside together for extended periods of time".

Of the family law calls, 39% had a query that included a divorce or separation issue. Another 28% had a query that related to custody, access, or guardianship.

Some 12% of calls relating to family law concerned domestic violence, with the number of such calls increasing by 48% compared with 2019.

Many were from parents who, due to Covid restrictions, were struggling to get access to their children.

Flac expressed concern at calls from people who were the subject of "ongoing and exacerbated domestic violence" and felt in genuine fear for their safety, often due to financial and alcohol stresses or because they are now living in close confines after the loss of a job due to Covid.

"This is particularly concerning in light of recent revelations that domestic violence victims who made emergency calls for help did not receive the standard of service from gardaí that they required and to which they were entitled," it said.