Ms Rose Wall:

One has a situation where the HAP is paid directly to the landlord so one never sees a penny of it yet HAP could bring one over the qualifying amount in the means test thus making one no longer eligible for legal aid, which is crazy. There are a lot of anomalies with the means test, which mean that people who cannot afford the services of a lawyer are being denied legal aid. Frankly, there are very few people who can afford the services of a lawyer. The average person in Ireland, I would say, cannot afford to take a case to the High Court to vindicate his or her rights as it is just out of his or her reach.