Minister Jim O'Callaghan notes the early findings of Ireland’s first Legal Needs Survey
- Published on: 6 November 2025
- Last updated on: 6 November 2025
The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan has today (Thursday 6 November) noted the preliminary findings of the first survey examining the extent of legal need in Ireland.
Funded by the European Union through the Technical Support Instrument and implemented by the OECD in collaboration with SG REFORM of the European Commission, the survey was conducted as part of the project “Enhancing Access to Justice through People-Centred Justice”, with some 2,400 respondents taking part.
Ireland is participating along with Italy, Malta and the Netherlands in this multi-national project, which aims to strengthen the effectiveness, accessibility and fairness of our justice systems. The OECD, in partnership with the World Justice Project, is providing the technical expertise to the project partners.
Minister O’Callaghan said:
“I note the initial findings of Ireland’s first Legal Needs Survey.
“These findings provide important insights into how people deal with a range of justice problems that they face in everyday life.
“For example, the survey found that 80% of respondents in Ireland experienced at least one justice problem in the last two years.
“Positively, 71% of respondents who have reached an outcome in their resolution process perceived the process as fair to all parties.
“However, 71% of people who faced a justice problem experienced hardships as a result including stress or emotional strain (55%), loss of money (34%) and deterioration in mental health such as anxiety or depression (34%).
“While preliminary results of the survey are being presented today, further analysis will be required before the full results are published.
“I look forward to considering the full findings of the legal needs survey once that analysis is completed.”
As technical partners on the project, the OECD oversaw the administration of the online survey, which was conducted by polling company RED C in October 2025. The World Justice Project is conducting the analysis and validation of the survey results. Among the preliminary results, it found that in Ireland, justice problems are more prevalent among certain groups including:
- Men (83%)
- People aged 18-24 (91%)
- People with higher levels of education (83%)
- People with disabilities (88%)
The most common types of justice problems experienced in Ireland were related to:
- Product issues (45%)
- Services (40%)
- Money and debt problems (35%)
- Problems with neighbours (33%)
The findings indicated a high degree of legal capability. Among people who experienced one or more justice problems, on average:
- 84% understood or came to understand their rights and responsibilities
- 75% knew where to get good information and advice about resolving issues
- 66% were able to get all the expert help that they needed
- 73% were confident they could achieve a fair outcome
Minister O’Callaghan continued:
“The evidence from this survey is crucial to identifying unmet needs, informing future reforms, and monitoring progress towards a more people-centred justice system.
“I look forward to exploring how the learnings from this project can inform and enhance the many reforms already underway in my department, where improving access to justice is a priority.
“These include the ongoing implementation of the Family Justice Strategy and Family Courts Act, the Courts Service Modernisation Programme, our Zero Tolerance Strategy to combat domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and consideration of the outputs of the Civil Legal Aid Review.”
The presentation containing the preliminary findings of the Legal Needs Survey in Ireland can be found here: Enhancing Access to Justice through People-Centre Justice
The Minister concluded:
“This project is continuing to provide an invaluable opportunity for my department to collaborate with colleagues across the wider Justice system nationally, and learn from other countries and the OECD’s expertise.
“I would like to thank the many stakeholders, agencies and government departments for their engagement and contribution to date throughout the project.”
ENDS...///
Notes to the editor
The EU-OECD project “Enhancing Access to Justice through People-Centred Justice”, is funded by the European Commission’s Technical Support Instrument (SG REFORM). It supports four EU Member States – Ireland, Italy, Malta and the Netherlands – in strengthening the effectiveness, accessibility and fairness of their justice systems.
Drawing on the OECD Recommendation on Access to Justice and People-Centred Justice Systems, the project promotes reforms that make justice more responsive to people’s needs, more effective at resolving justice problems, informed by data and evidence, and delivered through whole-of-government and whole-of-society collaboration. It runs from July 2024 to June 2027.
In Ireland, the project is implemented in partnership with the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, building on ongoing reform initiatives such as the Family Justice Strategy (2022–2025), the Courts Service Modernisation Programme (2019–2030) and the recently published Civil Legal Aid Review.
Its main objective is to strengthen the evidence base for justice policy, helping ensure that services are designed around the most common problems people face and that they can access fair, timely and affordable solutions. The OECD provides tailored technical assistance, including analytical work, peer learning and capacity building.
A flagship component of the Irish project is the country’s first national Legal Needs Survey, overseen and managed by the OECD in partnership with the World Justice Project. The survey was administered by the company RED C.
With a nationally representative sample, the survey explores how people experience and resolve legal and justice problems in everyday life – from family and housing matters to debt and employment issues. This evidence is crucial to identify unmet needs, inform future reforms, and monitor progress towards a more people-centred justice system. By grounding policy in robust data and people’s lived experiences, Ireland is advancing towards a justice system that works for everyone.
