Disability Federation of Ireland (DFI), an advocate for the voluntary disability sector that supports 132 member organisations, plays an important role in the dissemination of legal information to the organisations it supports. Given the amount of legislation underpinning disability law in Ireland, DFI was keen to ensure it had a clear picture of the status of key pieces of legislation underpinning the sector. DFI approached PILA’s Pro Bono Referral Scheme for a legal review to determine whether the operative parts of the following legislation had been commenced:
Arthur Cox, a Sustaining Partner of PILA, came on board to develop a user friendly template to track the relevant provisions from each Act and their proposed commencement dates. The research noted where commencement dates had passed, thereby highlighting opportunities for renewed calls for full implementation of legislation that is core to strengthening the rights of people with a disability in Ireland.
In speaking about using the PILA Pro Bono Referral Scheme, Joan O’Connor of DFI commented on the supportive role of PILA and how accessible it was. The work itself added great value to their existing knowledge and the legal tracker document has since been disseminated to all staff working in the area of policy development and advocacy for the rights of people with disabilities.
Geoff Moore, a partner in Arthur Cox who oversees the firm’s relationship and work with PILA, commented that, “Arthur Cox is committed to pro bono work and to developing and maintaining a co-ordinated, focused, well-balanced and meaningful pro bono scheme. Our partnership with PILA gives us an ideal platform to do so and to utilise the skills of our lawyers to help advance social justice.”
Since 2009, PILA has operated a Pro Bono Referral Scheme that connects social justice organisations with free legal expertise. The breadth and depth of referrals can vary greatly, but increasingly PILA has received similar requests from organisations seeking to map the legislation underpinning their advocacy work.
If you are working in a social justice organisation and are interested in learning more about how your organisation can access legal support via PILA please contact Legal Officer Eithne Lynch at eithne.lynch@flac.ie.