“A very rewarding and valuable experience” – interning with MLRC
My name is Gemma Harrington and I recently finished my MA in Laws from University College Dublin. I held the position of communications and fundraising intern at MLRC from February to May 2020. I was interested in doing this internship because I had heard of MLRC and the amazing legal work they do in the […]
Legal intervention by MLRC enables homeless family to access suitable emergency accommodation and housing supports
Earlier this year, MLRC successfully assisted a family in securing suitable emergency accommodation after they spent almost a year in one night only emergency accommodation with young children. MLRC also assisted the family in accessing the social housing list. The family had been living in one night only emergency accommodation with their five young children […]
Pro bono housing law project with A&L Goodbody wins award
We were delighted to see our pro bono partners A&L Goodbody win an award last week for Excellence in Community Volunteering at this year’s Chambers Ireland Sustainable Business Impact Awards. The firm won the award for our project ‘supporting housing rights and homelessness through free legal assistance’. This project started in 2018 when MLRC built […]
Minister for Housing launched MLRC Annual Report 2019
On 21 September 2020, Mercy Law Resource Centre (MLRC) hosted a virtual launch of its Annual Report for 2019. MLRC was delighted to be joined by Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD, who formally launched the report. We were also joined by over eighty attendees, both supporters of the work of […]
MLRC successfully assists client to access social housing support
MLRC recently assisted a client in successfully accessing social housing support and consequentially the Housing Assistance Payment, after her request was refused on two previous occasions on the grounds that she is a property owner in another country. Our client, an EU national, has resided in Ireland since 2004 and has three children. She has […]
Rent Supplement for Victims of Domestic Violence
On 14 June 2020, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection announced measures to make Rent Supplement more readily available to victims of domestic violence. The Rent Supplement Scheme is a means-tested welfare subsidy for those in private rented accommodation who cannot afford to pay rent due to a substantial change in circumstance. Under […]
MLRC client given access to social housing list after many years of battling
Having battled with the council for many years to access the housing list, one of our clients last week was delighted and relieved to finally be approved for social housing support. This lady had bought a council house which she subsequently sold many years ago. The council agreed to the sale because at the time […]
Children’s Rights Alliance gives Irish Government ‘F’ grade in relation to Child and Family Homelessness in Report Card 2020
In March 2020 the CRA published its Report Card 2020 which evaluates which evaluates the Irish Governments performance and progress in relation to children’s rights. This year’s Report Card evaluated and graded the Government’s performance in relation to six specific rights including the right to an adequate standard of living encompassing the issue of child […]
MLRC supporting homeless families facing healthcare crisis in times of Covid-19
In the last few days, MLRC has supported two vulnerable families to move from overcrowded and highly unsuitable B&B accommodation, into self-contained houses where they can properly self-isolate and live in security and dignity with their young children. MLRC has been working with these families for several months, addressing several obstacles they had previously faced […]
MLRC intensifies its service provision during Covid-19
Since the onset of Covid-19 in Ireland, MLRC has intensified its provision of essential services including our legal advice outreach and legal representation, adapting how we work in light of the current health crisis. All MLRC staff are working on a remote basis in line with public health advice. Our legal service has adapted to […]
