Mel Cousins, a leading expert on Irish social welfare law, has recently written an article on a case taken by Free Legal Advice Centres Ltd (FLAC) seeking publication of Social Welfare Appeals Office decisions. The case was rejected by the High Court, which said there was no obligation to maintain a database of Appeals decisions that would be accessible to the public (Jama v Minister for Social Protection [2011] IEHC 379).
In Access to quasi-judicial decisions – Jama v Minister for Social Protection, Mel Cousins is somewhat critical of the applicant’s case but firmly rejects arguments that social welfare appeals are basically administrative in character and stresses that appeals decisions are quasi-judicial determinations. He notes that Appeals Officers can and do refer to previous cases when making their decisions. Mr. Cousins suggests that in appropriate cases “a social welfare appellant should … be entitled to access to relevant decisions as a matter of constitutional justice”.