Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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The mission statement of the Northside Community Law Centre is as follows:

The [Northside Community Law Centre] . . . is an independent community-based legal centre. [It works] . . . to protect and develop the legal, social and economic rights of individuals and groups.

The Centre provides free information and advice to individuals and groups in its community who otherwise would not be able to access legal services and works to give power to the community through education, research and campaigns.

[The Northside Community Law Centre] . . . believes in the dignity of each individual. [It is] . . . committed to working with the community for the creation of a just and tolerant society.

On 23 February this year President MaryMcAleese formally opened the new offices of the Northside Community Law Centre in the new Northside Civic Centre in Coolock, Dublin. Two months later this important community facility is about to close its doors because of a lack of funding. The centre has been in existence for 30 years during which period it has played a central role in the civic life of the community and surrounding areas. It has campaigned forcefully on behalf of disadvantaged communities in regard to family law, social welfare law, consumer credit and debt and on poverty in general. In addition, it has provided free legal advice to many people and, in particular, to people experiencing difficult personal and distressing circumstances.

As a public representative for the Coolock area, I know that the closure of this centre will cause real hardship for many people. I am not in a position to give professional legal advice to my constituents but I regularly refer people to the free legal advice clinic organised by the Northside Community Law Centre every Thursday evening. There clients can get advice on marriage, separation, divorce, barring orders and many other issues. No one else in the area provides this service. Very often clients are in a very distressed state, perhaps because of violence in the home or whatever, and they need immediate legal assistance as to what they can do, particularly in emergency situations.

Bureaucratic wrangling between the Department of Social and Family Affairs and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform must not be allowed to cause the closure of this invaluable community service. It is unacceptable that the Department of Social and Family Affairs would allow the closure of the Northside Community Law Centre by ceasing funding without putting alternative financial arrangements in place. The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has been asked to examine the issue as a matter of urgency. Ministerial heads must be knocked together immediately to sort this administrative failure. The Department of Social and Family Affairs should continue to fund the centre out of its information budget, given that the centre's activities are well within the scope of the Department's goals.

The Northside Community Law Centre is modelled on the US law centres, which were set up as part of President Johnson's War on Poverty. According to the Northside Community Law Centre, the idea was that law centres would assist marginalised communities in tackling structural causes of poverty and exclusion, thereby empowering those who had been disempowered. The centre is seen as one of the great success stories of the Department of Social and Family Affairs, as a thoughtful and innovative approach to the problem of poverty and as something which is entirely appropriate to that Department.

Some 30 years ago, community volunteers in a disadvantaged area of the city had a vision. A law centre was established to meet real and practical needs being experienced by ordinary people in their daily lives. A little bit of imagination at this time is needed to ensure this dream is fulfilled. A public meeting is being held on Friday. Many representatives of local organisations and individuals have indicated that they will attend the meeting. Therefore, I ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs to meet with the board of directors of the Northside Community Law Centre to sort out this administrative problem.

Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Haughey for raising this important issue. I am replying on behalf of the Minister for Social and Family Affairs.

The Northside Community Law Centre is one of a number of organisations funded under the Department of Social and Family Affairs' scheme of grants for the development and promotion of information and welfare rights. Since its establishment in 1975, the centre has been funded exclusively by State agencies, including the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the former Eastern Health Board, with the Department of Social and Family Affairs taking over direct funding in 1995. The Department provided €215,000 to the centre last year.

The necessity for the centre to source additional funding over and above what the Department can provide has been explained to the board of the centre for a number of years. This is in line with the situation of all other voluntary organisations funded through the Department's information grants scheme. The Minister is fully cognisant of the valuable role which a community-based legal advice service such as the Northside Community Law Centre can play in the delivery of a comprehensive and cost-effective legal advice service for citizens. However, he is satisfied that his Department is not in the long term the most appropriate source of funding for this service having regard to the fact that the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has primary responsibility for funding legal aid services.

It is worth pointing out that in 2004 queries on social welfare represented less than 5% of the law centre's annual business. Also, the Northside Civic Centre in Coolock, where the community law centre is located, has a local social welfare office with a full-time information officer, a citizen's information centre and a money and advice budgeting service office that are all directly or indirectly funded by his Department. The Minister has, therefore, written to his colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, regarding future funding for the centre as an integral part of its legal aid services. He will follow this up with him as a matter of urgency.

Payments totalling €140,000 have already been made to the centre this year to ensure continuity of service, including payment of salaries. Departmental officials have been in discussion with the centre's management on the financial issues involved. The Minister is examining the options for assisting the centre until the issue of future funding for the centre has been resolved. He has decided to invite a delegation from the centre, together with Oireachtas representatives from the area, to meet with him in the coming days to discuss how best to ensure the future of the centre.