Mr. Paul Joyce:

FLAC is a voluntary organisation so anybody can access the service. There is not a means test. Generally speaking, there is not any kind of waiting list but the person in the centre is a volunteer lawyer who is at work during the day and will give the person a steer on his or her legal query. Often it is a signposting service more than anything else and in many cases an application for legal aid from the Legal Aid Board might need to be made at that stage, in particular if it is a family law matter. In some instances the suggestion from the volunteer lawyer will be to engage a solicitor or to go to another organisation. It really depends. The most important thing to say is that those centres do not involve taking on clients or giving legal representation. FLAC does a small amount of casework but generally speaking with a public interest litigation focus to it. FLAC will take cases but usually in order to potentially benefit a wider range of people rather than act as a service provider.