Free legal advice body concerned about social welfare checks

Flac chief executive Eilis Barry said there are "a number of matters of concern", including worries about "the manner in which investigations of social welfare claims are conducted by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection". Picture: Derek Speirs

The organisation which provides free legal advice has flagged serious concerns over airport welfare checks, citing one case in which an illiterate Roma man who, when approached by an official, signed a form that cut off his benefits, because he thought the man was a customs official.

Free Legal Advice Centres (Flac) raised concerns about certain welfare checks in its annual report, which also shows a rise in the number of people contacting its clinics because of domestic violence and workplace bullying.