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Street furniture licence fees for tables and chairs associated with outdoor dining are to be waived for the remainder of 2025. The measure is set to be included in the draft Planning and Development (Street Furniture Fees) Regulations 2025, which will shortly come before a joint Oireachtas committee

Trinidad and Tobago nationals will be required to have a visa before travelling to or through Ireland under changes aimed at bringing Ireland into closer alignment with the UK visa regime. The changes take effect from today, 12 May 2025, though transitional arrangements are in place for those who al

A woman decided to divorce her husband after asking ChatGPT to interpret the meaning of her coffee grounds and being told they indicated he cheated on her. The unnamed woman from Greece was apparently taking part in an online trend of asking the AI-powered chatbot to act as a fortune teller, her baf

Phoenix Law partner Darragh Mackin has appeared before the St Helena Court of Appeal in a case concerning access to justice for citizens of the British overseas territory. The Belfast lawyer has been instructed by St Helena's Equality and Human Rights Commission, which is intervening in the case, Pe

The full list of finalists for the 2025 LEAP Irish Law Awards has now been published.

The Central Bank of Ireland has become the first entity in the State to be named a "trusted flagger" under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA). As a trusted flagger, the Central Bank will be able to notify online platforms about illegal content, which they are then legally obliged to deal with as a ma

Sustainability-focused funds continue to be on the rise in the EU in spite of "growing anti-ESG sentiment", according to a new report from the Maples Group. A review of over 27,000 funds across the two largest fund domiciles in the EU, Ireland and Luxembourg, has revealed how the Sustainable Finance

Sir John Gillen has been reappointed as independent assessor of PSNI recruitment vetting for a further four years. The retired judge, who sat on Northern Ireland's High Court from 1999 and the Court of Appeal from 2014 until his retirement in 2017, will serve for a second term until 30 April 2029.

UK government ministers have shelved plans to allow AI companies to train their models on copyrighted material unless creators actively opted out, following a backlash. The original proposal, floated in a December consultation, would have created a copyright exemption in favour of AI developers, pla

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Saudi Arabia executes its 100th prisoner so far this year

A raccoon named "Chewy" was caught by police with a meth pipe in his mouth after a traffic stop in Ohio. Springfield Township Police Department say they pulled over the car after the motorist was identified as having an arrest warrant and a suspended licence.

Around two-thirds of business leaders in Ireland believe AI is improving productivity, a survey carried out by law firm William Fry suggests. The firm's annual AI summit at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre yesterday brought together senior executives, policymakers and legal specialists to hear how

The PSNI has been challenged over a bizarre decision to release a deliberately blurred image of suspects in an attempted murder. Belfast firm Phoenix Law said its client Sean O'Reilly was confused by the force's appeal for assistance in identifying two suspects while releasing CCTV images with their

Northern Ireland personal injury law firm JMK Solicitors has recognised the expertise of five team members by giving them new titles. Marie-Claire Meehan is now director of performance, while Susan Morrison is now costs consultant and Sinead Toal, Ailis McKeown and Wendy McIntosh are now senior asso

New guidelines on the use of AI in public services have been published by the government. The 84-page document has been developed to "actively empower public servants to use AI in the delivery of services", the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform said.