Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 11 December 2019

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality

Access to Justice and Legal Costs: Discussion (Resumed)

Photo of Jim O'CallaghanJim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming and the submissions made. At the end of this process, we will produce a report that will have recommendations. The contents of the submissions and what is said today is very important for the purposes of us finalising our recommendations.

All the witnesses agree that the first immediate obstacle to a person accessing justice is awareness of the law. In many respects, people only become aware of the law as a result of a traumatic event. For example, people could be the victim of crime or be accused of a crime. They could have a family law dispute and the break-up of a family or a row in employment or in a tenancy. We just need to try to elaborate on what can be done to make people more aware of the law and the rights they have instead of waiting for people to have a traumatic event.

In these Houses, we spend all our time making laws but sometimes I wonder how many people are aware of the laws being made here. What can be done in a practical sense to make members of the public aware of the law? This does not apply simply to disadvantaged areas. How can we make members of the public aware of the rights they have under the Constitution and, more specifically, under statute law? How do the witnesses recommend we do it? Should it come through a community law centre or through education?

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