Eight out of 10 people in Ireland believe those with less money do not generally fare as well in legal challenges as those who are better resourced financially, according to a new national poll published on Wednesday by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC).
The Amárach annual poll of human rights and equality issues in Ireland also shows that nine out of every 10 people agree that providing free legal aid is essential to ensuring equal access to justice.
The poll also outlines people’s perspectives on housing as a right, equal access to healthcare, experiences of racism, and disability rights among other areas.
Sinéad Gibney, chief commissioner of the IHREC, said access to justice “means more than being able to swing open the courtroom door”.
“It’s about being able to properly and fairly engage with our legal system irrespective of factors such as your age, your gender, your ethnicity, whether you are a disabled person or what your job or income is,” she said.
“It is deeply worrying that a huge majority of people across Ireland agree that your legal challenge will have a worse outcome if your bank balance is low, and young people in particular strongly hold this view.
“Free legal aid is a crucial element of access to justice, and we as a commission have been consistently critical about how civil legal aid is sharply restricted.”
The nationally representative poll of over 1,200 people also shows that 83 per cent of people consider housing to be a basic human right. That represents a rise of 1 per cent from last year’s poll.
More than six in 10 believe that the right to housing should be enshrined in the constitution, while 24 per cent are against.
Some 32 per cent of people say they have witnessed or directly experienced racism over the last year. This rises to 43 per cent among 25-34 year olds
Almost 90 per cent of people believe the State should provide public health care to all in Ireland, with 63 per cent saying it is unfair that people with higher incomes can afford better healthcare.
Some 78 per cent of people support the inclusion of a new ground in Ireland’s equality law to protect people against discrimination due to their socio-economic status.
More than half of people (51 per cent) disagree with the view that everyone in Ireland enjoys the same basic human rights.
