Major FLAC & TCD Law School Conference on Civil Legal Aid: FLAC highlights “deepening of access to justice crisis” and risk of collapse of Legal Aid services during 2026

12 January 2026

FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres) and the Law School at Trinity College Dublin will hold a major day-long conference, titled Civil Legal Aid: From Review to Reform, on Monday, 12^th January 2026 in the Arts Building, Trinity College Dublin. 

The first ever review of Ireland’s Civil Legal Aid Scheme was published in July 2025. FLAC has endorsed the minority report written by its Chief Executive, Eilis Barry who was a member of the Review Group. The conference will bring together Ireland’s access to justice stakeholders and experts to respond to the Review and reflect on how meaningful reform can be achieved in this area. Speakers include:

• The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs & Migration, Jim O’Callaghan TD (9:40am)
• The Chief Justice, The Hon. Mr Justice Donal O’Donnell (9:55am)
• Prof. Síofra O’Leary, Former President of the Euopean Court of Human Rights, delivering the conference’s Keynote Address (10:10am)
• Eilis Barry, FLAC Chief Executive, setting out FLAC’s vision for a reformed system of legal aid (10:50am)
• EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, Michael McGrath speaking about the EU, the Rule of Law & Access to Justice (12:25pm)

 

Speaking in advance of the conference, FLAC Chief Executive, Eilis Barry, commented: 

“Our civil legal aid system is in crisis. The Civil Legal Aid minority report highlighted that the system is failing to meet significant levels of legal need, particularly among people and communities experiencing poverty, deprivation and discrimination. There are a number of reasons for this crisis. First and foremost, civil legal aid is not treated as a fundamental right, a core social service or an investment that will benefit and save money for individuals, communities, the courts and the State. It should be. 

As a result, the Legal Aid Board is chronically underfunded. A recent review commissioned by the Legal Aid Board and undertaken by the consultancy firm BakerTilly found that resourcing issues are so chronic within the Legal Aid Board that staff are buying IT packages out of their own pocket to allow them to carry out their work. 

In 2025, the Legal Aid Board had a budget of €64.122m. In 2026, it received an increase of €8m to deal with what the review commissioned by the Legal Aid Board described as creaking ICT infrastructure. By contrast, the horse and grey hound industries received €100 million in this and last year’s budget and €58 million has been spent on the Ryder Cup – one million less than what the Legal Aid Board received in 2024. 

The under-resourcing and underfunding results in difficulties in hiring and retaining staff, and pay levels for Legal Aid Board solicitors are lower than for lawyers in other parts of the civil service. This leads to critical legal aid deserts in some areas and an overreliance on the private practitioner scheme, where there is a low take up due to the low level of payment. In its 2024 Annual Report (published in December 2025), the Legal Aid Board acknowledged that it is ‘…currently facing challenges due to resource deficits in our permanent workforce, which have led to service availability issues in certain regions. In the past, we could look to meet these demands by appointing private practitioners from our panels. However, some areas are now experiencing shortages with no private practitioners available. This affects our ability to maintain a consistent, accessible, and uniform service nationwide.’ 

The Legal Aid Board is also unable to pay for essential child welfare and other vital reports in cases where it is providing representation.

The waiting times for a first consultation with a Legal Aid Board solicitor stand at 64 weeks in Sligo, 51 weeks in Ballymun, 43 weeks in Waterford, and 45 weeks for the Board’s Traveller Support Service. A wholly outdated means test means that huge swathes of people (who end up contacting FLAC) simply cannot afford a solicitor and remain ineligible for legal aid. 

In addition, the exemptions to the scheme mean that women bringing sexual harassment claims against employers in the WRC, tenants challenging no-fault evictions in the RTB, and carers of disabled children appealing the refusal of social welfare payments have no access to legal aid. Our scheme of civil legal aid simply does not cover those areas regardless of the complexity of the cases or the vulnerability of the applicants. The exclusions from the scheme are contrary to European law; no fewer than eight international and European independent human rights monitoring bodies have criticised the scheme. 

The implementation of the EU Migration Pact will lead to a very significant increase in the Legal Aid Board’s during 2026. There is a real risk that this will push the legal aid system from a state of crisis to one of collapse unless radical reform is instituted. Ireland has the resources, expertise and infrastructure to provide drastically improved access to justice services. Comprehensive, meaningful reform is doable, practical and cost effective. In fact, such services are an investment for the individual, society, the Courts and the State, and ultimately save money.”

 

European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, Michael McGrath commented in advance of the conference: 

“Justice must be accessible to be real. Access to justice is a pillar of the rule of law and essential for democratic trust, social cohesion and the effective protection of fundamental rights. The Free Legal Advice Centres in Ireland have been a long-standing beacon for promoting access to justice and demonstrates Ireland’s tradition of legal aid and civil society engagement. 

Today’s event allows us to reflect on the Irish contribution to a shared European promise - upholding the right to an effective legal remedy and to necessary legal aid as protected in Article 47 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. 

Civil society organisations, like FLAC, play a crucial role in protecting and advancing access to justice. They support those who would otherwise risk going unheard, help turn rights into lived realities, and ensure the rule of law is applied in practice where it matters most. Member States have a clear responsibility to ensure that national legal aid systems work in practice. The Commission will continue to support, monitor and coordinate these efforts to ensure access to justice delivers for all across the Union.”

ENDS.

• The full conference schedule can be found on the FLAC Website. 

Notes:

FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres) is an independent legal, human rights and equality organisation, which works in a number of different ways to promote equal access to justice:

• In 2024, our Telephone Information and Referral Line responded to 11,435 queries. FLAC also provides Phone Legal Advice Clinics.
• Our independent law centre provides targeted legal services for the Traveller and Roma communities, and also undertakes public interest litigation (i.e. cases which may have an impact beyond the individual).
• FLAC also operates PILA which facilitates NGOs to obtain legal assistance from private lawyers via its pro bono referral scheme.
• FLAC makes policy recommendations in relation to areas of law that most impact on people living in poverty and disadvantage, including equality and anti-discrimination law, social welfare law, housing law, human rights law, and access to justice.