Domestic Violence update with quotes from Keith Walsh Solicitor in today's Irish Independent

Irish Independent 

31 July 2017

A woman was forced to represent herself in court because she could not afford a €130 fee in a case involving her husband who had threatened to kill her.

Financial barriers are stopping some victims of domestic violence from being able to get representation in court, according to the Free Legal Advice Centres (Flac).

The organisation also called for an increase in the capital assets threshold in order to avoid excluding people who are asset rich but cash poor.

The Legal Aid Board changed the maximum level of capital resources from €320,000 to €100,000 in 2013.

Flac said this action had limited the availability of legal aid to individuals such as farmers or other self-employed people who often own valuable assets, such as land and machinery, but have little cash.

It noted that a minimum contribution of €130 must be made towards civil legal aid fees, which is proving a "financial barrier for victims seeking crucial legal protections".

The organisation, which publishes its annual report for 2016 today, said domestic violence issues formed one out of every 11 family law inquiries it received last year.

It cited the example of the woman who secured an interim barring order against her husband after he held her captive and threatened to kill her.

The order put the husband out of the family home for a week, after which the matter was scheduled to go to a full court hearing. Although the woman was entitled to legal aid to get a solicitor, she could not afford the €130 contribution that clients must make.

She ended up representing herself but felt "totally intimidated" in court and failed to get a barring order.

The woman ended up in a refuge after the husband was allowed back in the house.

"Civil legal aid fees should be automatically waived for victims of domestic violence when seeking safety, protection or barring orders," said Flac chief executive Eilis Barry.

She said the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women had recommended last March that Ireland end the requirement for victims of domestic violence seeking court protection to have to make a contribution.

The report said 25,700 people had received basic free legal advice last year by calling into one of 67 participating clinics or over the phone. It said access to justice had been made more difficult by the recession.

Some 34pc of people who called into clinics had family law queries.

Employment law accounted for 14.7pc of queries, while wills and probate (9.5pc), housing and landlord/tenant issues (7.4pc), debt problems (5.3pc) and negligence or personal injury (5.1pc) also featured prominently.

The organisation said access to justice had been made more difficult by the recession.

Between 2007 and 2013 the number or people waiting for a first consultation with a free legal aid solicitor increased by 335pc from 1,163 to 5,067.

It said between 2007 and 2012 the maximum waiting time in a law centre for a first consultation with a solicitor increased from six months to 15 months.

Up to date figures show waiting lists for a first consultation at certain law centres are up to 25 weeks.

The report said there was a need to reform eligibility requirements for civil legal aid.

The current system stipulates that an applicant’s disposable income must be below €18,000, a cap which has not been reviewed since 2006.

It said the number should be indexed to reflect the current cost of living and legal services.

The organisation also called for an increase in the capital assets threshold in order to avoid excluding people who are asset rich but cash poor.

The Legal Aid Board changed the maximum level of capital resources from €320,000 to €100,000 in 2013.

FLAC said this action had limited the availability of legal aid to individuals such as farmers or other self-employed people who often own valuable assets, such as land and machinery, but have little cash flow.

The Law Society today issued a statement supporting FLAC's call for the abolition of the need for people who experience domestic violence to contribute to the cost of civil legal aid when they apply for court protection.

“Domestic violence cases are some of the most heart-wrenching and difficult briefs a solicitor can work on. Around one in five women in Ireland who have been in a relationship have been abused by a current or former partner, and evidence shows there is a growing trend in men reporting being abused as well,” said Keith Walsh, solicitor and chair of the Law Society of Ireland’s family and child law committee.

“We support the chief executive of FLAC, Eilis Barry, in her call for the removal of the fee attached to accessing legal aid in this situations and call on the Minister for Justice and Equality to urgently review the matter.

"Indeed the matter has even been noted as one of concern in a recent United Nations report, which called for the Irish Government to end the requirement for victims of domestic violence to make financial contributions for civil legal aid.”

"The Law Society and its members believe in access to justice and the protection of legal aid in the State. We support the view that this access fee to legal aid is outdated and, as we have seen reported, can result in outcomes that do not serve to protect the victims of domestic violence.”

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/woman-in-domestic-abuse-case-forced-to-represent-herself-35983107.html