Speaking at FLAC's 9th annual Dave Ellis Memorial Lecture, Senior Solicitor and life-long social justice activist Michael Farrell identified serious weaknesses in the protection of human rights in Ireland, despite the various treaties and laws which aim to protect individuals’ rights and liberties.
Noting that the rights of many of the most vulnerable in Irish society have been overlooked, and commenting on reported signs of a recovered economy, Mr Farrell said: “We must not go back to ‘business as usual’ and we must try to use the lessons from the crisis to put in place mechanisms to protect the vulnerable against any future crisis and to repair as much as possible the damage done by the crisis just passed.” He said that many agencies, lawyers, the voluntary legal sector, academics and government could all put a greater focus in their work to advance human rights in Ireland.
The full text of Mr Farrell's speech can be downloaded here, with a video of the lecture here on FLAC's YouTube channel.
In addition to the lecture, the event marked an award to 77 volunteer lawyers. These solicitors and barristers volunteer with FLAC mainly through the legal advice centres which the organisation runs in partnership with Citizens Information Centres, and though PILA.