Organisation

In March 2020, FLAC established phone legal advice clinics as its face to face FLAC Clinics closed due to COVID -19. FLAC campaigns in areas of law that most impact on disadvantaged people and groups. FLAC also operates a Legal Advice Clinic for the Roma Community and a dedicated Traveller Legal Service. FLAC as an independent law centre also undertakes strategic casework in the public interest. Through the Public Interest Law Alliance (PILA), FLAC supports more than 150 NGOs working for social change on issues of governance and substantive issues that affect vulnerable groups. 

EU Project Experience

Some experience

FLAC is a partner with INAR in a project funded under the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme (2014-2020). The overall objective of the project is to ensure better access to effective remedies under the EU Race Directive (2000/43/EC) across the State. The Project will address the current gap that exists in the availability of expert representation for victims of race discrimination making formal complaints under the Equal Status Acts and the Employment Equality Act on the basis of race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins or membership of the Traveller community (hereafter ‘the race ground’) and seeking a remedy for that experience. This will be achieved by developing a network of accredited equality advocates that will be available to represent victims of race discrimination across Ireland, and who are either working as advocates within an existing NGO or doing such advocacy work within a Citizens Information Centre.

The Project will also address the absence of empirical research into the adequacy of the current State infrastructure for adjudicating on and providing remedies for complaints of discrimination on the race ground. The experience of discrimination and in particular race discrimination is monitored and reported on, but to date there has been little critical evaluation as to the remedies available for such discrimination and whether the infrastructure for dealing with complaints is adequate to fulfil the requirements of the EU Race Directive and Charter of Fundamental Rights. The Race Directive defines discrimination; provides for a shifting burden of proof; addresses the availability of representation for victims of race discrimination and the nature of the remedy that should be available, all matters that will be combined within the training and research elements of this project to make the Equal Access Project a holistic means of achieving greater impact through reliance on the Race Directive and EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

FLAC is also a partner in a Rights Equality and Citizenship funded project led by the Traveller Equality and Justice Project. The Traveller Equality and Justice Project aims to highlight ongoing levels of discrimination experienced by Travellers in Cork. The project's objective is to provide legal research support to Traveller organisations and map experiences of Travellers who have been refused access to goods and services.

EU Funding Goals

We are particularly seeking opportunities to partner with NGOs on EU Programmes that support litigation in the public interest.

Strengths

FLAC has expertise in the area of Human Rights and Access to Justice and Public Interest Law. FLAC has also a long track record in engaging volunteers in the provision of legal advice.

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