The Gazette 1995

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GAZETTE JULY 1995
they do have a legal problem, do not
go to a lawyer for assistance. This is
caused by the cultural gap which exists
between the two. Lawyers are from a
different educational and social
background than their potential clients,
and there can be a perception that they
have no understanding of the
difficulties o f those who c ome from a
totally different environment.
The Committee recognised that each
o f the identified barriers had to be
removed and, therefore, advocated a
service which would be concerned
with more than merely providing the
public with access to lawyers and the
courts. T o date only the issue o f cost
has been addressed by the S c h eme of
Civil Legal Aid and Advice, and the
current Bill will do nothing to
ameliorate the situation.
Advice, assistance and representation
are merely part o f the picture. Rather a
comprehensive service would seek to
tackle all the factors which hinder full
equality o f access to justice.
Education, research, and law reform
must also be seen as essential for
publicly funded legal services to be
effective and comprehensive.
Education as to rights and services
should be incorporated as part o f the
functions o f the Legal Aid Board to
counter the lack of awareness on the
part o f its clients. In addition, pro-
grammes of education as to legal
rights are very important if progress is
to be made in identifying unmet
legal need.
The present Legal Aid Board is in an
ideal position to study the effects of
much social legislation and make
appropriate recommendations. Reform
of the law that causes problems may
be a much more efficient way of
dealing with a lot o f people's problems
than litigation.
F LAC has always advocated that law
centres have an input from the
communities they serve8. Community
management committees could
determine the priorities o f the law
centres in response to the needs o f the
local area, and such involvement
would foster an understanding of the
law and its uses. In the current S c h eme
there is provision for limited
community consultation but this has
been removed from the Bill.
Moreover, the Legal Aid Board which
administers the Law Centres, has no
input from representatives of the client
group. Organisations such as the
Combat Poverty Agency or Wome n 's
Aid have practical knowledge of the
difficulties confronting those who
must use the services o f the Board and
this experience is invaluable in
ensuring effective delivery of
publicly funded legal services.
Indeed in the course o f the Seanad's
debates, many Senators proposed
amendments to ensure that some
element o f control would be vested in
those for whom the service is
established. However, while accepting
these arguments, the Minister
refused to allow a statutory obligation
to include such representation at
Board level'.
The Civil Legal Aid Bill, 1995,
provides a unique opportunity for
debate on the future and nature of
publicly funded legal services in
Ireland. The original S c h eme was
introduced as an immediate response
to the decision in the Airey case, and
within its remit it has developed as an
excellent family law representation
service. But that remit was never
intended as a long term strategy for
legal aid. It would therefore be
regrettable if the experience of the past
15 years were to be largely ignored
and the inadequacies of the current
S c h eme copperfastened into
legislation.
*Sabha Greene is the Administrator
of Free Legal Advice Centres
Footnotes
1. Civil Legal Aid Bill, 1995. Presented by
SenatorMaurice Manning, 2 February,
1995.
2. Scheme of Civil Legal Aid and Advice, as
amended, 1 9 8 0 - 8 6 .
3. Report to the Minister for Justice of the
Committee on Civil Legal Aid and Advice.
14 December 1977.
4. Airey -v- Ireland. Judgment of the Court, 9
October 1979. 2 .E.H.R.R. 305.
5. Annual Report of the Legal Aid Board,
1992.
6. S.2.6.6., p 46, Report of the Committee on
Civil Legal Aid and Advice, ibid.
7. Report on the Proceedings of the Seanad,
Irish Times, 12 May 1995.
8. The Closed Door - A Report on Civil Legal
Aid Services in Ireland, F LAC & Coolock
Community Law Centre, 1987.
A Submission to the Department of
Equality & Law Reform on civil legal aid
services in Ireland, F LAC 1994.
9. Official Debates of Seanad Eireann, 6 April
1995.
Irish
Solicitors
Golfing
Society
Captains Prize
The results of
Richie Bennett's
Captains Prize held
at Courtown on 31
May 1995 were as
follows:-
Winner Ciaran O 'Connor 41
points (H/C 17)
Second John Bourke 41 points
| (H/C 11)
Third Frank O ' Donn e ll 4 0
points (H/C 2 4 )
i The Patrick's Plate
Winner David Alexander 39
j points (H/C 9 )
Second Brendan Duke 38 points
(H/C 9)
Handicaps 13 - 28
, 1. David Tansey 4 0 points (H/C 15)
I 2. Pat McGonagle 38 points (H/C 17)
|
Director General's Cup
Winner Rob Cussen 35 points
(H/C 12)
Front Nine Rory Deane 21 points
(H/C 6 )
B a c k Nine Kevin Byrne 21 points
(H/C 9 )
Í Over 30 miles from Courtown.
Tim O'Sullivan 37 points (H/C 24).
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