The Free Legal Advice Centres' (FLAC) 2012 annual report was launch on 15 July. The report includes key statistics from 2012 which identify that there has been an increase in calls of seventy per cent to the FLAC information phone line on landlord and tenant issues. In addition, queries on the same matter rose by fifteen per cent at FLAC drop-in advice centres. The sudden rise in this area of law has been attributed to people who have had to rent out their homes to meet rising mortgage payments.
The annual report shows that of the 25,450 people who accessed its services in 2012, family issues, employment problems and money worries constituted about half of enquiries. FLAC says that these statistics show that there is not just a fundamental need in Irish society for accessible legal information and advice for individuals, but also for fairer systems that allow people to access their rights across a wide range of issues.
Noeline Blackwell, Director-General of FLAC commented, “In 2012, FLAC was proud of the fact that we helped thousands of people one-to-one through our advice and information services. From those contacts and our work with other organisations, we know that people are worried sick and afraid about basic issues. They do not see the law as protecting them despite its central role in their lives.”
The Public Interest Law Alliance (PILA), a project of FLAC, had a busy year in which it made 64 pro bono referrals, supported 62 NGOs and independent law centres, set up 11 law reform working groups, delivered 14 legal education sessions attended by 340 people and signed up 68 new lawyers and 5 new law firms to the pro bono register.
Click here to read the annual report.
Click here to read FLAC’s press release on the annual report.