If you have an opinion on how to deal with Mortgage Arrears, now is the time to be heard...

The Financial Regulator is revising its Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears. This Code will shape how lenders and borrowers address the problem of mortgage arrears in Ireland. Before the final code is decided, the Regulator wants to know what you, the Irish public, think on the topic.

FLAC campaigns in the area of personal debt and will be making a submission to the Regulator on the revised Code. Thus we are urging you to send in your feedback to the Regulator's office before the 3 September deadline. There are four specific areas the Regulator addresses in particular.

But FLAC would also like to know what you think about the Code and we have a few questions of our own on which we'd like to hear your thoughts. Therefore, we invite you to submit your ideas on the issues raised by the Regulator and on our own questions about the Code to FLAC by 1 September. We will then group these together and present them, on your behalf, to the Regulator. For more information on how to take part, please go to our campaign page.

Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears

The Financial Regulator introduced a Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears for all mortgage lenders in February 2009. This was updated in February 2010 to include changes such as the 12-month stay on legal action where arrears arise. You can download a copy of this Code in PDF format.

Open letter to Minister Ahern

FLAC, and a number of fellow NGOs, have written an open letter to the Minsiter for Justice and Law Reform Dermot Ahern regarding the decision to transfer more than 100 asylum seekers to alternative accommodation in Hatch Hall.

FLAC is continuing to campaign against the move which failed to look at the people on a case by case basis, and thus failing to take into account individual circumstances. The full text of the letter is available here: http://www.flac.ie/getinvolved/campaigns/current/direct-provision-campaign/

Government drops appeal in Lydia Foy transgender case

Lydia Foy and Michael Farrell (FLAC) at the press conference to announce the government's dropping of its appeal in Lydia's case for transgender recognition, 21 June 2010

The Irish Government has withdrawn its appeal to the Supreme Court in the case of transgender woman Lydia Foy. It has accepted a High Court ruling that Irish law on transgender rights is in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres) represented Dr Foy in the hearing.

The Government has set up a Gender Recognition Advisory Group to advise it on reform of the law. Submissions to this group must be made by 17 September 2010.

In a "Comment" circulated to 47 states on 31 August 2010, the Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg welcomed the Government's decision. The Commissioner also said that it is crucial that representatives of the transgender community and other experts in the area be represented on the group. You can read more about this historic case in our news section.

Equality and human rights - It's about you!

At a photo shoot to promote the ERA campaign - FLAC Director Noeline Blackwell is holding the 'U?' banner on the left.

The Equality and Rights Alliance is a coalition of over 140 civil society groups and activists (including FLAC) working together to protect and strengthen the statutory equality and human rights infrastructure. It has launched a new campaign to raise awareness about how important equality and human rights are in lives of people in Ireland.

"Equality and human rights are everyone's issues. Especially yours. They determine your home life, your school life, your community, your health or your work chances."

Join the campaign - in three easy steps: Write your message - Upload your photo or image - Tell your friends and family

That's it! Please take action and join the campaign today!

Statistically Ireland has the lowest divorce rate in Europe, yet FLAC has received 1,387 Family Law queries in the first quarter of 2010 alone.
Recent Figures show there were 387 residential properties repossessed in Ireland from 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010
Figures from the Financial Regulator show 32,000 mortgage-holders are in arrears of 3 months or more; a rise of almost 4,000 from the end of 2009.
Public interest law is working with the law for the advancement and protection of human rights and for the benefit of disadvantaged people through litigation, law reform and legal education.
New FLAC clinic on Sean MacDermott St. operating on Mondays, between 2pm and 4pm.
FLAC runs specialised advice clinics for Irish speaking clients, deaf clients. Click "Find your nearest Legal Advice Centre" below.
Ireland has only ever made 2 collective complaints to the European Committee on Social Rights and the Social Charter
Queries on debt to FLAC's telephone information line in 2009 were up 300% compared to 2008.
According to the Irish Prison Service Annual Report 2010, the number of people jailed for not paying fines was up 91% in 2009
FLAC is seeking funding to aid our continuing campaigns and services. Please donate using the button below.
FLAC received 10,154 calls to its telephone information line in 2009, up almost 10% from 2008.
9.4% of calls to FLAC in 2009 were debt-related.
Approximately 6,500 people live in direct provision accommodation, with 2,000 having been there for three years or more.
5.4% of clients to FLAC centres nationwide in 2009 have visited in relation to a debt query, compared to 3.4% in 2008.
22.1% of calls to FLAC telephone information line in 2009 are on family law, compared to 20.7% of calls last year.
31.1% of clients to FLAC centres nationwide in 2009 visited in relation to a family law query, compared to 31.5% in 2008.
Each adult in direct provision receives €19.10 weekly and €9.60 per child; this amount has not increased since 2000.
FLAC has over 600 volunteers giving advice all over the country.
A total of 1,431 people were sent to prison for non-payment of fines in the three months to the end of March 2010.
There is a waiting time of 9 months for state civil legal aid in Clondalkin (Dublin 22) and 8 months in South Mall (Cork) (May 2010)
Following the McCann case (June 2009), new legislation clarified that judges may compel debtors to attend court for debt enforcement proceedings.
There is a waiting time of 11 months for state civil legal aid in Wexford (as of May 2010).
In a FLAC survey (2006), three-quarters of debtors did not understand the terminology used in court documents to enforce debt.
Calls to MABS helpline in the first quarter of 2010 were up 21.3% on the same period of the previous year. (www.mabs.ie)
Ireland is the only country in the EU where it is possible to imprison a person on foot of a court order for failing to pay a debt.
72 orders for repossession were granted to lenders by the High Court in the first 8 weeks of 2010, almost one-third the number granted for all of 2008.
The percentage of mortgages more than 90 days in arrears hit 3.3% in 2009 - the first time it has exceeded 3% since monitoring began (source: Moody's).
Following the McCann case (June 2009), new legislation clarified that only those who have the means, but refuse to pay, will be put in jail.
Children constitute one-third of residents in the direct provision centres around Ireland.
As of early 2010, the national active caseload for MABS is 30,160 - more than double its total three years ago, when it was 14,707.
At the end of September 2009, there were 791,634 private residential mortgages active with a total value of €118.6 billion.
More than 90% of all people who visited FLAC centres in 2009 had not accessed a private or Legal Aid Board solicitor.