FLAC05 Vol15no4
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ISSN 0791 4148 l V OLUME 19 l NUMBER 1 l JANUARY – MARCH 2009 flacNews FREE LEGAL ADVICE CENTRES 40 Years of FLAC Celebrating four decades of the Free Legal Advice Centres in Ireland s r i e p FLAC is an independent We take cases to challenge the law S k e human rights organisation and so promote access to justice r e D dedicated to the realisation on behalf of marginalised or disad- © of equal access to justice vantaged groups. Some cases have o t o for all. It campaigns led to important law reform and h through advocacy, strategic enhanced rights for such groups. P litigation and authoritative analysis for the eradication Underpinning our campaigning of social and economic and casework is a strong tradition exclusion. of research and policy work.FLAC generates submissions on legal We provide necessary legal servic- and social policy developments es to the public, including an infor- and proposes reforms to the law. mation and referral line, and we The organisation produces sub- support a network of 70 free legal stantive reports on our key areas advice centres throughout Ireland. of work as well as smaller publica- tions designed to explain and The helpline, available at 1890 make relevant legal issues for a 350 250, is open during office wider audience. hours Monday to Friday and while it does not provide legal advice, it offers 7500 people at its centres, which are Our newsletter, FLAC News, is now in basic information on the law and refer- operated in conjunction with Citizens its 19th year and appears quarterly.To rals to an appropriate service or cen- Information Centres. FLAC’s website mark the organisation’s 40th anniver- tre. Our centres are open in the offers a wealth of useful information sary, FLAC News will include a special evenings and are staffed by volunteer and is available at www.flac.ie insert documenting the four decades lawyers who advise people on their of the organisation's existence in pho- legal queries. We do not offer repre- FLAC campaigns on a range of issues tographs and press clippings. This will sentation. connected with our core areas of appear in each issue throughout 2009. work: civil legal aid, social welfare law In 2008 FLAC answered some 9500 and credit & debt law. In addition we This first issue of 2009 covers the queries on its helpline and provided seek to advance the use of law in the 1970s. We hope you will enjoy this non-means tested legal advice to about public interest. series; we welcome any feedback. FLAC News is available free on subscription, in print or PDF format. For this 40th anniversary year, it is being sent to all Irish legal practitioners. If you want to receive an electronic version rather than a printed one, or no longer wish to receive FLAC News, please e-mail us at [email protected] flac News | Vol. 19, No. 1 in this edition... Courts Service gets it wrong on Courts Service gets it jurors 2 FLAC @ 40 2 wrong on jurors he Courts Service has been The Jury Summons and leaflet are accom- Comment: Much more action sending out Jury Summonses that panied by a photocopied sheet which says required on over-indebtedness 3 wrongly tell people over 70 that – not in bold type: “[T]here is now no Checklist of actions for surviving Tthey are disqualified from serving on a upper limit to the age at which someone the recession 4-5 jury. can serve on jury”. It does not say that State mortgage assistance the information on the Jury Summons and scheme under review 5 Since 1 January this year, the upper age leaflet is incorrect. limit of 70 for serving on a jury has been Government fails to submit Social abolished but the Courts Service is still ‘Confusing’ would be the politest way to Rights report 6 sending out old Jury Summons forms that describe the effect this must be having on Manager appointed for new public include the previous age limit, together people over 70 who are now legally enti- interest law project 6 with an explanatory leaflet that repeats tled to serve on juries but are told three the ban on people over 70. times on the official forms that they are New Charities Act does not still disqualified. recognise human rights 7 Under the heading “IMPORTANT Expanding advice centres on NOTICE” in bold type, the Jury Summons And just to complete this sorry mess, the immigration law 7 form asks the question: “What Age Must Jury Summons also has a list of people FLAC’s 2008 statistics show major You Be To Serve On A Jury?” and answers: ineligible to serve which, under the sub- rise in legal aid needs 8-9 “You must be between 18 and 70 years of heading “Incapable Persons”, includes: “A age. If you are over 70 years of age you person who because of insufficient capac- 40th anniversary insert: are disqualified from serving on a jury...” ity to read, deafness or other permanent No.1: FLAC in the 1970s i-iv infirmity is unfit to serve on a jury”. The elephant in the room: A page later, under the heading “QUALI- Personal over-indebtedness FICATION FOR JURY SERVICE”, the Another amendment last year removed & public policy 10-11 form says “You are qualified and liable for the offensive reference to deaf persons as jury service if ... you are not less than 18 unfit to serve, replacing it with more sen- Focus on FLAC: Peter Ward BL 12 nor more than 70 years of age”. And on sitive language, although it still did not give FLAC @ MACRO, Dublin 7 13 Form J2,“Reply to Jury Summons”, it help- them the right to sit on juries. FLAC fully tells the prospective juror that it is an client Joan Clarke, who has challenged the Casework round-up: Social welfare offence under the Juries Act,1976, punish- ban on deaf persons in a High Court appeals;Accessibility case against ? Iarnrod Eireann 14 able by a fine of 253.95, to serve on a action, is still awaiting a decision on her jury knowing that s/he is disqualified. case. Perhaps if she succeeds, the Courts Challenge to ban on deaf jurors 15 Service will produce a new form of Jury Kenyan legal aid activists murdered 16 An accompanying printed leaflet also says Summons which tells those aged over 70 in bold type: “Note: The qualifica- and deaf persons that they are welcome Pakistan: Rule of law restored 16 tion age for jury service is to serve on juries. between 18 and 70 years of age”. FLAC News is published quarterly 8See also page 15 for further news. by Free Legal Advice Centres Ltd., 13 Lower Dorset Street, Dublin 1. Editing & Layout: Yvonne Woods n 25 April FLAFCL willA celebrateC at its4 040th anniversary in the Contributors: Noeline Blackwell, Mansion House, where President Mary McAleese will address Saoirse Brady, Michael Farrell, assembled guests. The evening aims to thank FLAC volunteers Michael Green, Catherine Hickey, Oover four decades for their vital work and to acknowledge the contribu- Sarah Horgan, Paul Joyce, Gillian tion of FLAC’s founders. At this event. we hope to gather some 500 Kernan,Aisling McHugh, Fintan guests to include current volunteers, FLAC’s founders and supporters Monaghan, Edel Quinn, Peter Ward, who are central to FLAC’s development. Yvonne Woods We will organise other events throughout the year providing opportuni- ISSN 07914148 ties to thank volunteers and promote FLAC’s work. The current eco- nomic situation has placed increased demands on FLAC’s services and Photos: FLAC, Eamonn O’Dwyer, campaigns. FLAC relies on the help of volunteers solicitors and barris- Derek Speirs ters to operate its centres and plans to expand volunteering opportuni- The views of individual contributors ties to meet increased demand for its services. For further information do not necessarily represent the on events, contact Catherine Hickey at [email protected] views of FLAC. 2 FLAC NEWS l JANUARY Ð MARCH 2009 flac News | Vol. 19, No. 1 Comment: Over–indebtedness — much more urgent action required ccording to figures released home. The situation was exacerbated the lender, where the house sells for by the Financial Regulator in by the lack of any consultation with less than the borrowed amount, in December 2008, almost groups representing consumer inter- addition to costs and penalties. Given A14,000 residential mortgages were in ests before the code was adopted.As a that properties are not selling at pres- arrears of at least three months as of result, the code that came into effect ent, how the amount payable to the June 2008. Nine months later, with the on 27 February provides even less pro- lender will be calculated is critical, but steep rise in the rate of unemploy- tection than the draft version first the code does not set any parameters ment and evidence of small business viewed by FLAC in January. for this. failure across the country, unfortu- nately this figure is now likely to be Where the draft code would have Equally,for all the talk of reckless lend- appreciably worse. prevented a mortgage lender from ing in recent months, there has been issuing a formal demand and legal pro- no proposal on a legislative initiative In turn, figures issued by the Courts ceedings against a borrower unless to examine and potentially reschedule Service at the end of February 2009 there were “six months cumulative grossly irresponsible housing loans. show that the number of High Court arrears,” the code as adopted allows a The borrower continues to endure applications to repossess properties formal demand to be made if a third the pain unaided.