The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by Dolores Mannion over the Legal Aid Board’s handling of her request for legal assistance in proceedings which included a negligence claim against the Board itself.
The dispute arose from litigation connected with an apartment Ms Mannion bought in Tralee, Co Kerry, in 1989. After dealing with a succession of private solicitors, she approached the Legal Aid Board in 2005 for assistance with an existing case against the Board and another firm.
The Board assigned Mr de Feu of Tallaght Law Centre to assess and process her application. Ms Mannion argued that assigning a solicitor employed by the organisation she wished to sue created an unacceptable conflict. She sought judicial review, including orders requiring the Board to provide an independent solicitor outside its employment.
The High Court rejected her challenge in December 2007. On appeal, the Supreme Court said it was in complete agreement with that judgment and affirmed the order.
The court accepted that the situation was unusual. However, it noted that the Legal Aid Board had statutory and procedural safeguards for circumstances where conflicting interests arose. It agreed with the High Court that those safeguards satisfied requirements of natural and constitutional justice and did not breach the principle that no one should judge their own cause.
The Supreme Court also held that the Board’s statutory scheme contemplated provision of services through its own solicitors in the circumstances before the court. There was no statutory requirement to maintain a panel of private solicitors for High Court litigation, although Ms Mannion could ask to have a different Board solicitor assigned.
The court noted evidence that Mr de Feu had taken particular care to protect confidential information and had represented Ms Mannion’s interests internally within the Board.
Ms Mannion did not pursue a constitutional challenge to the legislation itself before the Supreme Court. The appeal was dismissed and the High Court order affirmed.