The Bar of Ireland recognises that in order for any legal system to operate at its optimum level, access must be available to all.
Those most vulnerable in society can encounter difficulties accessing the justice system. The Bar of Ireland strives to reduce these difficulties through VAS.
The mission of VAS is to address unmet legal need in the community through the facilitation of pro-bono legal services by barristers who are members of The Bar of Ireland, in collaboration with NGOs and charities.
What Services Does VAS provide?
The scheme makes available every service which barristers ordinarily provide to clients. Barristers can become involved at any or for all stages of a legal issue.
Examples include:
Advising whether there may be a legal angle to a particular problem;
Helping with the drafting of initial letters;
Drafting documents needed to bring a claim to court;
Representing a client in court;
Providing training in advocacy (how to plead a case) or other legal issues to organisations that may need to represent clients themselves;
Providing advice in relation to law reform and legislative drafting;
In certain circumstances, VAS can provide advice on initiating court proceedings and can sometimes provide a barrister to act in such cases.
While VAS reserves the right to refuse any request, VAS will ordinarily accept requests from charities, NGOs and civic society groups such as MABS and Citizens Information. VAS can provide legal services to either the organisations themselves or their clients, with the organisation acting as an intermediary.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How does VAS assist charities and civil society groups?
VAS provides assistance to charities and civil society groups in two ways:
1. To the requesting organisation itself – for legal issues arising for the organisation.
2. To an individual as a client of a requesting organisation – in these circumstances VAS will gladly provide assistance, but it can only be via the requesting organisation acting as an intermediary.
What areas of law has VAS assisted in?
VAS has assisted in;
- Social Welfare appeals
- Equality law issues
- Debt-related issues
- Housing Issues
- Landlord and tenant issues
- Prison related issues
How can I make a request to VAS?
Only charities and civil society groups can make an application to VAS.
To do so, they can email the VAS Coordinator at VAS@lawlibrary.ie or by clicking the “Request Assistance” button on this page.
Please provide as much information as possible in this request. See the “What Case Information is Required?” section for further details on what case details are required by VAS.
How is a request handled?
In order to consider whether to accept a request for assistance, the administrator of VAS must receive adequate detail about the nature of the issue and the advice needed. This includes details about the person, their means, whether they have applied for Legal Aid and if so, what was the outcome, a synopsis of the case/query to date, whether a solicitor has been retained and so on.
This information will be kept confidential by the Voluntary Assistance Scheme and any barrister assigned to consider a case.
What case information is required?
In order to ensure that matters can be considered by VAS, the following guidelines should be adhered to where at all possible.
1. On whose behalf you are seeking assistance of VAS from, including name and address;
2. The factual background and whether any degree of urgency arises;
3. Details of other attempts made to acquire legal assistance, including applications for Legal Aid and details of the reasons that the applicant is unable to acquire legal assistance;
4. Please note that if the nature of the case is such that it comes within the remit of the Legal Aid Board applicants must apply to the Legal Aid Board for assistance before submitting an application to VAS;
5. An undertaking to act as contact between your client and the scheme. This is an important point as if the case is accepted; there can be no direct contact between the client and VAS. The NGO is the point of contact. VAS cannot under any circumstances take on individuals’ cases. It only considers enquiries from charities, non-government organisations and civic society groups such as MABS and Citizens Information;
6. If the enquiry is in relation to a case already fixed for hearing, please notify us of the date the case is due in court. VAS requires sufficient notice of a hearing date before assistance can be granted. VAS requires 3 weeks’ notice of any hearing date or deadline and such notice period will only be disregarded in exceptional circumstances;
7. Copies (NOT the original documents) of all correspondence should be posted to Voluntary Assistance Scheme, Law Library Distillery Building, 145-151 Church Street, Dublin 7 or scanned and emailed to VAS@lawlibrary.ie.
Get in Touch With Your Request
Send on your query by emailing us at the link below. Please ensure you have read through our FAQ to familiarise yourself with what is required in a request for assistance.
