Nasc is a non-governmental organisation which seeks to respond to the needs of immigrants in the area of Cork. Earlier this year, Nasc developed Roma-specific legal clinics dealing mostly with social welfare, racism and discrimination issues. In the latter half of 2015, begging emerged as a pressing issue for members of the Roma community. Hearsay evidence suggested a crackdown on begging in Cork City Centre, with Nasc aware of at least thirty members of the Roma community appearing before the District Court on charges.
In that light and given the complexity of the queries arising, Nasc approached PILA for legal assistance through the Pro Bono Referral Scheme. Anecdotally the organisation was aware of confusion prevailing on what constituted legal and illegal begging. Nasc sought clarification on this matter, as well as on the powers Gardaí have to arrest and charge a person with begging. PILA has a large network of lawyers committed to delivering pro bono legal services and who were eager to work on this matter, and so was delighted to connect barrister David Rickard with Fiona Hurley at Nasc.
Speaking about the impact of the advices on their work, Fiona said “PILA has been a hugely important resource for Nasc over the last few years and we were delighted with the opportunity to work with David Rickard BL. We were really impressed with the extremely detailed and thorough analysis of the law that David carried out for us as well as the practical suggestions he provided for those arrested on begging charges. The advices will inform Nasc’s work with the Roma community over the coming months and we to incorporate the information into training sessions for members of the Roma Community.”
In undertaking the research, David Rickard BL noted that “the 2011 legislation, rather than providing clear-cut guidelines for determining the differences between lawful and unlawful begging, has raised several areas of confusion.” David noted that this in turn will undoubtedly result in necessary appeals placing further strain on an already over-burdened justice system.
According to David, “while challenging, this was a worthwhile project involving considerable research. Generally the law in this area remains little tested. Doing pro bono work, such as this, enables me to become involved in very worthwhile work by utilising my own time, resources and experience and [I] will continue to do so.”
To find out how your organisation can access pro bono legal support, please contact PILA Project Officer Eamonn Tansey at eamonn.tansey@flac.ie or 01-8873629.