The Free Legal Advice Centre (FLAC) has said it is concerned at the number of people who were unable to get through to it, as it reported its highest number of callers in seven years in 2022.
FLAC, an independent legal, equality and human rights organisation, said its phone line took over 13,000 calls last year, which it said demonstrated a huge demand for its services.
Chief Executive Eilis Barry said people are "desperate" to get information and that the majority of callers are asking about family law, employment law and issues around sexual harassment.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, she said that access to justice should be seen as a social service like any other, but it needs to be resourced.
FLAC's annual report, which is being released today, shows that in 2022 its phone line answered 13,556 calls, but more than 4,400 people could not get through due to overwhelming demand.
It said another cause for concern is the high demand for assistance on employment law, including more than 2,000 callers to the FLAC phoneline, without anywhere to refer people who cannot afford a private solicitor for legal representation.
Ms Barry said many people find it difficult to navigate Ireland's legal system, but the centre often feels it has nowhere to send people, despite the demand for information and help.
In its annual report, FLAC said its clients were awarded a total of €48,500 in compensation for acts of discrimination by the Workplace Relations Commission or as a result of settlement agreements in their favour.
In one case, the WRC found that a bank's refusal to engage with a customer through an ISL interpreter constituted unlawful discrimination and awarded the client €8,500.
In another, four Traveller sisters received €2,000 each pursuant to a settlement agreement after a hotel refused to honour their booking for a dinner to mark their mother's anniversary.
