Wednesday, February 27, 2019
EncourageChange - @paddoconnell Twitter Profile | Twipu
EncourageChange - @paddoconnell Twitter Profile | Twipu: Explore @paddoconnell Twitter Profile public inquiry | Twipu
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
PADDYWANTSTOKNOW?: "ENCOURAGECHANGE"paddoconnell8@gmail.com: Welcome ...
PADDYWANTSTOKNOW?: "ENCOURAGECHANGE"paddoconnell8@gmail.com: Welcome ...: http://encouragechange.blogspot.com/2009/08/welcome-to-my-website-ireland-ahern.html : "A report by the Council of Europe’s anti-corrup...
State operates under a veil of secrecy
State operates under a veil of secrecy: Minister for Finance Michael Noonan kept batting away requests for the truth on the IBRC/Siteserv deal for more than six months through the course of 19 parliamentary questions.
'Damaging to the very fabric of our society': Higgins criticises Ireland's unequal justice system
Higgins was speaking at the opening of Flac’s new Dublin office.
PRESIDENT MICHAEL D Higgins has said that Ireland should not be satisfied with its current system of justice which is dependent on the ability to pay for it.
Speaking at the official opening of Free Legal Advice Centres’ (Flac) new office in Dublin, Higgins said that effective access to justice is a basic human right arguing that access to legal aid is a crucial requirement of that.
“A nation that aspires towards true equality, could not be satisfied with a system of justice that is reliant on the earning power of those who seek to access it, or accept a situation where those who cannot afford to pay for justice can be more easily deprived of their liberty, or for a view that a fair trial is a commodity is a right limited to one’s capacity to purchase it,” he said.
There can be no doubt that those who are most vulnerable and marginalised in our society are also those citizens who are most at risk of encountering legal difficulties and most in need of a justice system that is accessible and that operates in the best interests of all.
Flac was established in 1969 by four students who wanted to use their skills and knowledge to provide legal advice to those who could not afford to pay for it – an organisation Higgins says has contributed “so much to the achievement of a rights-based legal system in Ireland”.
Speaking at the opening of Flac’s new office, the first in a series of events to mark its 50th anniversary, Flac’s chief executive, Eilis Barry, said that five decades later, justice continues to be unattainable for some groups in society.
“We are proud of the work that FLAC and its squad of volunteers have done for the last 50 years in seeking to establish a comprehensive system of civil legal aid. However, Flac and its volunteers cannot begin to meet the current legal need it encounters on a daily basis.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Last year Flac dealt with over 25,000 requests for legal information and advice to its telephone information line and advice clinics.
It recently urged the government to make free legal aid available in proceedings involving the repossession of a home.
“It is simply not acceptable, in a state that claims to be a democracy, that the most vulnerable section of our society is unable to access our legal system or is prevented from doing so in a timely manner. That is a situation which damages the very fabric of our society, entrenching and exacerbating inequality,” Higgins said.
The homeless, the poor, those with a disability or who suffer from mental illness, immigrants, lone parents and those living or growing up in disadvantaged communities encounter many more legal problems than the rest of our population.
Higgins added that when vulnerable citizens are abandoned to navigate a complex legal system alone, they are experiencing a grave injustice.
“It is, indeed, worrying to know that figures released last year by the Irish Penal Reform Trust to the Oireachtas Education Committee showed that the majority of those currently in Irish prisons have never sat a State exam, with over half having left school before the age of 15.
“It is also revealing that prisoners in Ireland are 25 times more likely to come from deprived communities, indicating a very clear link between social disadvantage and crime and punishment,” he said.
FLAC’s new premises on Upper Dorset Street has a special historical significance as the playwright Sean O’Casey was born on the original site in 1880.
O’Casey’s daughter, Shivaun, was in attendance today for the opening.
Monday, February 25, 2019
Friday, February 22, 2019
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
'Not a case of taxpayers' money being wasted': Taoiseach accuses FF of 'spinning yarns' over hospital
'Not a case of taxpayers' money being wasted': Taoiseach accuses FF of 'spinning yarns' over hospital: Minutes from the board of the National Children's Hospital showed the Government's focus was on controlling the message, not the cost, the Dáil has heard.
Sunday, February 10, 2019
State operates under a veil of secrecy
State operates under a veil of secrecy: Minister for Finance Michael Noonan kept batting away requests for the truth on the IBRC/Siteserv deal for more than six months through the course of 19 parliamentary questions.State operates under a veil of secrecy »
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan kept batting away requests for the truth on the IBRC/Siteserv deal for more than six months through the course of 19 parliamentary questions.publish Oberstown review ‘deeply problematic’Authors of report into period of disorder at children’s detention centre in 2016 speak outMon, Aug 6, 2018, 01:00Maresa FaganMinister for Children Katherine Zappone said an operational review of the children’s detention centre will not be published because of the “passage of time”. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw A decision by the Minister for Children not to publish a report that followed a period of disorder at Oberstownchildren’s detention centre two years ago has been described by the report’s authors as “deeply problematic”.Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zapponesaid an operational review of the children’s detention centre, commissioned in response to significant challenges at the facility in 2016, will not be published because of the “passage of time”.A major fire causing €3 million in property damage, protests by youths, and strike action by staff over health and safety concerns during 2016 were among a series of incidents to trigger reviews of security, health and safety, behavioural management and operations at the facility.Prof Barry Goldson, a child law expert from the University of Liverpool, and Prof Nick Hardwick, former chair of the UK’s parole board, were commissioned to assess the Oberstown facility against international human rights standards and best practice. They also looked at the use of restraint and single separation at the facility, which can hold up to 54 young offenders.Speaking publicly on the issue for the first time, Profs Goldson and Hardwick said the decision not to publish the report was “deeply problematic”.The UK-based academics told Belfast-based website The Detail: “We have very grave concerns about what we learned, what individuals told us, and what we discovered during the operational review and believe it would serve the public interest for our findings to be published.Punishment and rehabilitationPrison population increases sharply following years of declineTougher anti-corruption laws to tackle white collar crimeRedacted version“A number of boys involved in an incident at Oberstown in 2016 were given extended prison sentences when they came before the courts this year and further children have been issued with lengthy prison sentences for incidents that occurred shortly after we completed our review. If our report had been published it may have been of interest to the courts and relevant to the sentencing of these children.”The authors said a redacted version of the report could be published.A representative for the Minister said: “The department is aware of the view that publication of the report is in the public interest. However, given the passage of time it is considered that it would be misleading to publish the report now, having regard to progress that has been achieved in the interim.“The review was carried out following a particularly difficult time in Oberstown. There had been serious incidents involving young people which threatened the safety of the campus. However, we are advised by Oberstown management that the environment in Oberstown is now more stable. There is evidence of positive change in the day to day operations.”Asked to clarify the reasons for not publishing, a representative for Oberstown said: “While due to legal advice it was not possible to publish the report in full, the recommendations of all reviews have been published in full, and a review implementation group was established in March 2017 to consider these recommendations.”‘Legal risks’The board of the facility confirmed legal costs of more than €19,000 between February 2017 and April 2018 to assess the operational review findings.Profs Goldson and Hardwick, however, have broken their silence on the unpublished report, which has been the subject of protracted correspondence between the UK-based academics and the board of management of the centre and the Department of Children.Documentation obtained under Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation reveals the children’s experts sought clarification on the decision not to publish their 67-page report and on “legal risks” associated with their findings.The Health and Information Quality Authority (Hiqa) requested a copy of the Goldson/Hardwick findings and was given an opportunity to read the report on site in May 2018.The State watchdog said: “While it would be preferable if Hiqa were to be issued with the report, as Hiqa has had access to the content of the report, our statutory powers of inspection and monitoring have not been hindered.”In May, three youths were handed down sentences of five years for their role in a “rampage” at the facility in August 2016, which involved a fire causing more than €3 million in property damage. In a separate case, a youth detained at Oberstown was sentenced last month to four years in prison for causing €50,000 in damage at the facility during four incidents between January and October
Thursday, February 7, 2019
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Issues Juveniles Face in Adult Prisons 