Calls to Free Legal Advice Centres spike to six-year high

Flac chief executive Eilis Barry said there is 'an ongoing crisis of unmet legal need in this country'. Picture: Derek Speirs

A person found to be just €500 over the legal aid means test was subsequently landed with bills of more than €20,000 in a family law matter.

That is just one of the cases outlined by the Free Legal Advice Centres (Flac), which had more than 13,000 queries last year, the highest figure in six years. It warned those queries were just the "tip of the iceberg".

Flac chief executive Eilis Barry said there is "an ongoing crisis of unmet legal need in this country", with almost a third of all queries related to family law matters such as divorce, separation, domestic violence, and custody and maintenance issues.

"We are hearing from individuals and families who are under enormous pressure in the areas of employment and family law. We could hear people were already stressed by the time they managed to get through to the phone line. Many of their queries were complex and took longer to provide the information they needed.

Callers were stressed because they didn’t qualify for legal aid, many narrowly missing the means test. 

"In one particular case, a caller was over the legal aid means test by €500 and had incurred legal costs in a contested family law matter of in excess of €20,000," Ms Barry said.

Many callers try to navigate the courts system alone, she warned.

"Flac has nowhere to refer these ‘lay litigants’ who are completely daunted by court forms and procedures. We also heard from callers contacting Flac in situations where they had been served with legal proceedings but were facing many months of delay in being approved for legal aid," Ms Barry added.

30% of calls related to family law

Of the 13,147 callers to Flac in 2021, nearly 30% related to family law, according to its annual report.

Of that family law percentage, some 44% related to divorce and separation, an increase of more than 29% on the previous year. A further 29% concerned custody, access, or guardianship, a rise of almost 18% on the previous year.

Some 17% related to maintenance, a rise of just under 10% on 2020, while 12% were domestic violence queries, a rise of around 8.5%.

Queries around employment were also prevalent, Flac said, with the 15% portion of calls spread out into questions around contracts, dismissals, grievances, redundancies, and bullying.

When it came to face-to-face clinics, more than 2,700 cases also predominantly referred to family law issues and employment.

"It is a matter of concern that we may have nowhere to refer callers looking for advice or representation in employment law cases. There is currently no legal aid for employment and discrimination claims before the Workplace Relations Commission," Ms Barry said.

More than a third of cases taken in the public interest by Flac in 2021 concerned discrimination, it said. Cases related to race, the Traveller community, disability, and housing assistance payments, the organisation added.

The Traveller Legal Service received 85 new queries, mostly housing and accommodation matters.

Flac managing solicitor Sinéad Lucey said litigation "continues to illustrate the ongoing specific and acute legal needs of people and marginalised communities living in poverty and disadvantage, especially in areas like access to accommodation, discrimination, and social welfare".