FLAC Campaigns

For over 40 years, FLAC has been involved in a wide range of campaigns. Its primary campaign concern is its original goal, the establishment of a concrete and functioning civil legal aid system in Ireland. (Read more about the history of FLAC's legal aid campaign.)

However, FLAC has also focused on other issues ranging from social welfare rights, immigration rights and employment law to credit and consumer law, public interest law and human rights law. FLAC's work involves vital actions such as informing individuals about their rights, reforming legislation and campaigning for improved state policy, and has made a huge difference in communities. You can also view a short film by Atlantic Philanthropies, which funds FLAC, about our work and principles.

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Past campaigns by FLAC:

• 21st century law needed for 21st century over-indebtedness!
  

  Ireland has a 21st century consumer credit market with a 19th century debt enforcement system. FLAC is working to ensure that these laws are reformed, in order to provide consumers and their dependants with a dignified and effective way of dealing with debt that will be fair to the consumer, the creditor and the taxpayer alike.

• Tell the real story on ESC rights!
  

  The government will soon report to the UN on how it is meeting its legal duties to respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of people in ireland in areas like health, education, social security, housing, cultural life and family . Help us tell the real story on rights in Ireland today!

• Time to reform social welfare appeals
  

  In October FLAC launched a report that recommends comprehensive reform of Ireland's system of processing appeals on refusals of social welfare applications. Entitled Not Fair Enough, the report is a legal analysis of how the appeals system meets basic human rights standards on issues like fairness, transparency and access to justice. It also presents findings from a survey of advocates who help people to make appeals on payments, which indicates systemic change is needed.

• Tri-City Project on Special Non-Contributory Benefits for EU Migrants
  

  FLAC has partnered with the AIRE Centre in London, and Lize Glass, legal consultant and former AIRE intern, in Amsterdam, in an EU Commission-funded Tri-City project on EU migrants' access to special non-contributory benefits. The overall aim of this project is to improve the information that EU migrants in Amsterdam, Dublin and London have about their right to access special non-contributory benefits.

• Time to legislate for transgender recognition in Ireland
  

  Ireland is now the only country in Europe where transgender people are not recognised in law. Following a long legal battle with the state, in 2007 FLAC client Lydia Foy won a groundbreaking victory for transgender rights in Ireland. Her case was also the first to feature a declaration of incompatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights. Although it was appealed by the government, in 2010 this was dropped. Following a general election in early 2011 which saw transgender recognition finally written into the Programme for Government, it seemed as if a law was finally coming. A report in July 2011 seemed to indicate that work was almost complete on legislation. However, October 2012 marks the fifth anniversary of that historic victory for Lydia Foy and the transgender comunity in Ireland. There is still no sign of the promised law.

• Direct Provision campaign
  

  Direct provision is a scheme whereby asylum seekers and people seeking other forms of protection are provided with accommodation on a full board basis with all their basic needs apparently provided for directly. Direct provision residents receive a weekly payment of €19.10 for an adult and €9.60 for a child. In November 1999 direct provision and dispersal was introduced as a pilot scheme to alleviate a housing shortage in the Eastern Health Board area. In April 2000 it was implemented as a national scheme and ten years later it remains in place. FLAC has opposed the direct provision and dispersal scheme since its inception.
  

• Campaign for fairness in social welfare decisions on HRC
  

  Growing from an earlier campaign, FLAC has been working to clarify how social welfare law is applied. We had become concerned that entire groups were being excluded from qualifying for payments. A number of positive decisions have made the situation clearer, such as around the Habitual Residence Condition, however FLAC will continue to monitor the way in which the law in the area is applied.