Case Reports

A man who was found guilty of raping his wife has had his custodial sentence increased from three years to five-and-a-half years' imprisonment in the Court of Appeal. Finding that the sentencing judge had not adequately assessed the gravity of the offending conduct, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said th

A 29-year-old man has been sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment for the murder of a 55-year-old man who he described as being “kind to everyone” and someone who would “give you his last penny if he had it”. Considering the appropriate tariff after mitigation to be one of 15 ye

The issue of liability in a personal injuries case against Sligo County Council has been directed for rehearing in the High Court. Finding that the trial judge had made a number of errors in concluding that the Council was liable for the accident which occurred on the front porch of a property owned

A district judge who raised concerns about budget cuts qualifies as a worker for the purposes of legislation protecting whistleblowers, justices in the Supreme Court have ruled. Lady Hale with whom Lord Kerr, Lord Carnwath, Lady Arden and Sir Declan Morgan agreed, delivered the judgment.

The High Court has refused an application made by Cork County Council in which it sought an order to direct a property arbitrator to state a case regarding his jurisdiction. The property arbitrator was nominated to hear a dispute over compensation for land acquired by a compulsory purchase order; ho

Clare County Council has been granted a permanent injunction restraining a couple and their family from trespassing on a housing estate where they had previously held a tenancy. The family had lived on the site for over 14 years before being victims of an arson attack, and the Council had promised t

The Minister for Health has lost his application to have proceedings challenging proposed new pharmacy rules split into two separate hearings. Refusing the application, Mr Justice Anthony Barr said splitting the trial was likely to raise the overall costs of the action and that it important not to d

Coolmore Stud has been granted an order striking out a defamation claim brought by a former employee who wrote a book about the famous thoroughbred farm after he retired in 2015. Coolmore Stud wrote letters to retailers and distributors of the book after it was published, threatening legal action if

A line manager at a bank has been awarded €7,500 in compensation for the organisation’s failure to properly address a formal grievance she raised about being undermined in her ability to manage a new employee. Stating that the 15-month delay in dealing with the formal grievance had exacer

A consultant psychiatrist has been awarded €4,000 after it was found that he was penalised for making a protected disclosure about the clinical performance of a colleague. Ordering the employer to pay compensation for penalising the complainant, Adjudication Officer Kevin Baneham found tha

A man who brought a case to the Workplace Relations Commission seeking redress for discrimination on the grounds of gender has had his complaint dismissed. The man complained that he was not allowed to use a room designated for use by females only and that he was being discriminated against since th

An EU citizen minor has “sufficient resources” not to become an unreasonable burden on the social assistance system of the host member state even if their resources are derived from income obtained from unlawful employment, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled. In

A woman who had to travel to England for a termination after being told that her unborn child had a fatal foetal abnormality has been successful in her challenge to Northern Ireland's abortion law. Following the UK Supreme Court’s ruling that the relevant legislation is incompatible with Artic

A man who was terminated without notice after working with a machinery manufacturing company for nearly a year has been awarded €15,000 in the Workplace Relations Commission. Finding that the company was in breach of the Employment Equality Acts, Adjudication Officer Ray Flaherty

A farm manager who was employed by a food company for over ten years before he was summarily dismissed has had his complaint under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 dismissed. The complainant alleged that his dismissal was based on his refusal to sign fraudulent claim forms for EU payments, and that th