News

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has been granted leave from the Supreme Court to exercise its amicus curiae function in a case of the eviction of a Traveller family in County Clare. The case of Bernard McDonagh and Helen McDonagh v Clare County Council is being heard by the Supreme Co

Children's rights in Northern Ireland are being compromised by a failure to implement recommendations made by a youth justice review more than a decade ago, according to a new report. The Children's Law Centre, Include Youth, NIACRO and Voice of Young People in Care (VOYPIC) commissioned youth justi

The deadline for companies filing their annual returns has been extended to 9 December 2021 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Companies Registration Office (CRO) said the two-week extension had been made "in light of difficulties experienced by some small accountancy firms in meeting the fil

Jason O'Sullivan, solicitor and public affairs consultant at J.O.S Solicitors, calls on Irish insurers to make good on their promises to lower premiums. The lobbying and public affairs industry in Ireland plays an important role in helping to shape public policy and legislative agendas. It is an imp

Matheson has announced the appointment of three new partners and a consultant in its corporate practice area. Davinia Brennan and Rory O'Keeffe have joined as partners in the firm's technology and innovation group, while Caroline Kearns and Niamh Mulholland have joined the financial institutions gro

Actor Kevin Spacey has been ordered to pay a production company more than $30 million for breach of contract. An arbitrator ruled that sexual misconduct scandals surrounding the actor meant he fell foul of his contract and had to pay the production firm behind the Netflix show House of Cards, in whi

Prosecutors would find it harder to use rap lyrics as evidence of alleged crimes under legislation proposed in New York. Two members of the New York State Senate have proposed a bill following controversy over the conviction of rappers in trials where their lyrics were used as evidence.

Seven more convictions of former subpostmasters linked to a flawed Post Office computer system have been overturned. Subpostmasters were victims of a scandal which saw the Post Office use its private prosecution powers over a 15-year period from 2000 onwards to prosecute and convict them of crimes.

Family lawyer Karen Connolly has been appointed to a steering group set up by Women's Aid to raise awareness about the impact of domestic abuse on women aged 55 and over. Ms Connolly, a partner at Belfast-based Francis Hanna & Co Solicitors, will help guide and support the Older But No Safer pro

A tribunal has found against the Department of Finance for twice refusing to backdate an appellant’s Disabled Person's Allowance. The tribunal found that the Department's repeated and categorical refusal was an unfair misstatement of the law. The Northern Ireland Valuation Tribunal (NIVT) reli

Family lawyer Ken Breen has joined human rights firm KOD Lyons in Dublin. Mr Breen brings over 25 years of experience to the firm, having qualified as a solicitor in 1995 after graduating from the University of Limerick.

Ireland's controversial wardship system will be ended by June 2022 under plans set out by ministers today. The government has announced that the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 will be amended before being commenced in full by June 2022.

An international consultation is set to take place on proposals for Irish grass-fed beef to receive protected geographic indication (PGI) status within the EU. An application for PGI status was submitted by Bord Bia on behalf of Irish farmers and is expected to be published by the European Commissio

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the offence of sexual exploitation of a child is a standalone offence and does not require proof that the child was trafficked. The question arose following the acquittal of two men accused of sexual exploitation, who had argued that the offence only applied in the

Scotland is to introduce 'sobriety tags' for offenders who commit alcohol-fuelled crimes. Offenders guilty of such crimes will have to wear the tags upon their release. The devices will trigger an alarm if the wearer has a drink during their probation period.