Legal Aid Farce in Ireland

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis

Saturday July 05, 2003 20:24

by Outsider

Irish civil servants guard their unaccountability

In a genuine democracy, every citizen would have the right and the means to sue any branch of the government and to
sue any goverment officer or agent. It doesn't happen in Ireland.

I have a dispute with a certain Irish government department. I have good grounds for suing certain Irish government officials for personal injury to me and my family on account of the negligent manner in which certain Irish government officials performed and failed to perform their duties. My case is valid and would undoubtedly succeed in court. However, I don't have the means to pay legal fees and to risk an adverse judgment with an award for costs against me, which is a real risk in a country like Ireland where something called 'public policy' overrides natural justice.
I applied for legal aid and was refused. Why? Only because Irish government agents wish to remain unaccountable.
The Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 is a total farce. It shields Irish government officials from accountability by declaring that any application for legal aid can be refused if 'IN THE OPINION OF THE BOARD' blah blah blah....
How can you argue with 'the opinion of the Board' - any more than you could argue with 'the opinion of a minister' or 'the belief of a Garda superintendent' under the Offences Against the State Act?
I repeat: in a genuine democracy every citizen would have the right and the means to sue any branch of the government and to sue any person employed by the government. The workings of the Legal Aid Board of Ireland demonstrate the limitations of Irish democracy.
I cannot be more specific about this case and have to remain anonymous because I may be representing myself in court in Dublin soon, after having been refused legal representation by a so-called 'Legal Aid Board of Ireland' which is actually only an 'agency' of the 'Department of Justice' and as such is incapable of impartiality and incapable of assisting any citizen who has a grievance against any branch of the Irish government. Hence the title: Legal Aid Farce in Ireland.
Ireland is not a genuine democracy because Irish citizens do not have the right and the means to sue Irish government officials.