BARRISTER & SOLICITOR LOG IN

APG on Access to Justice Hears Women’s Aid Legal Aid Warning

News and publications

(Pictured left to right: Brian Archer, Law Society NI Vice President; Sonya McMullan, Regional Services Manager, Women’s Aid; Stewart Dickson MLA, Chair of the APG on Access to Justice; Donal Lunny KC, Chair of the Bar of NI)

A leader of Women’s Aid, Northern Ireland’s lead organisation tackling domestic abuse, has called for greater investment to the civil legal aid budget.

Sonya McMullan, Regional Services Manager of the Women’s Aid Federation Northern Ireland, reinforced to MLAs the severity of the impact of potential and real cuts to legal aid at the Assembly today during a meeting of the All-Party Group on Access to Justice.

Legal aid is the system of public funding to help meet the costs of legal advice and representation in court or at a tribunal for those who could not otherwise afford it. The Department of Justice recently conducted a review of civil legal aid in Northern Ireland, which accounts for 50.3% of the total legal aid
expenditure.

Sonya McMullan emphasised the particular issues faced by victims of domestic abuse in their attempts to access legal aid, a key principle in the rule of law. Women’s Aid have campaigned for the safer protection of survivors of domestic abuse through the introduction of Legal Aid Waivers. The Regional Services Manager explained that the number of people getting these waivers is extremely low and there are many issues in relation to this that need to be addressed.

The meeting of the All-Party Group, which is co-sponsored by the Bar of Northern Ireland and Law Society of Northern Ireland, was based on theme of the recent Foundational Review of Civil Legal Aid Services carried out by the Department of Justice.

Sonya McMullan, Regional Services Manager at Women’s Aid, said:

“We would like to see greater consideration given to the human costs associated with cuts to legal aid, which impact vulnerable members of society most acutely including survivors of domestic abuse. Continued cuts to the legal aid and justice budget will only serve to further reduce their ability to access the
justice system”.

The Alliance Party’s Stewart Dickson MLA and Chair of the Access to Justice All Party Group at Stormont, added:

“It was vital to be able to hear from Sonya McMullan from Women’s Aid today at the meeting of the All-Party Group. It is important that the legal aid system enables everyone across Northern Ireland, especially our most vulnerable groups, to have equal and unimpeded access to the justice system when they need it”.

In a joint statement, Brian Archer, Senior Vice President of the Law Society of Northern Ireland and David Mulholland and Donal Lunny KC, Chair of the Bar of Northern Ireland stated:

“Hearing from Women’s Aid today at Stormont has only reinforced the challenges surrounding the provision of legal aid within Northern Ireland. The financial eligibility thresholds for civil legal aid have not been updated for 15 years, meaning that many citizens in need of legal aid, and who in the past would have been entitled to it, are now effectively barred from accessing it.

“There is an abundance of social and economic data which demonstrates the increased need for, and dependency upon, legal aid in this jurisdiction meaning any reduction in the scope and budget represents a serious threat to accessing justice across Northern Ireland. It is also concerning that as demand for legal services grows, the number of legal aid practitioners is declining due to delayed payments and decades-old rates that remain unchanged. Urgent steps to provide proper investment are required to ensure access to justice is upheld, particularly for the most vulnerable in our society”.

ENDS

Media Contact

Sinead McIvor - 07701 302 498

back to news