Coronavirus

The Law Society of Ireland has called for legislation to ensure that the possible closure of court offices does not affect proceedings being issued urgently to comply with the statute of limitations. The Law Society has been in contact with the Courts Service on the matter, but has called for legisl

Patrick Dunne urges reason in discussions about the lockdowns aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus. In the midst of a lockdown in this country, and lockdowns in many other western democracies, reference has been made to the imposition of martial law. This, it is claimed, would result in member

The UK government has been advised by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) that it can use anonymised mobile phone data in order to track people who have COVID-19. Deputy commissioner Steve Wood said in a statement: “Generalised location data trend analysis is helping to tackle the coro

The UK's wrongful trading law will be suspended to allow businesses to "weather the storm" of the coronavirus pandemic, Alok Sharma, the UK business secretary, has announced. The change, backdated to apply from 1 March 2020, will allow directors of companies to pay staff and suppliers even if the co

Draft legislation to ban evictions during the coronavirus pandemic has been amended to widen its provisions to include "rent-a-room" arrangements and Traveller sites. The amendment, proposed by People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith and narrowly backed by 25 votes to 24, extends the evictions ban

People claiming to have COVID-19 who deliberately cough at others could be imprisoned for up to 12 months, the Director of Public Prosecutions has warned. The intervention from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) comes after reports in recent days of police, shop workers and vulnerable groups being

Employment law solicitor Richard Grogan of Richard Grogan & Associates argues that Irish employers should not take advantage of the new temporary wage subsidy scheme introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Bill 2020 was in

Directors across the UK are asking the government for a temporary indemnity which allows them to keep technically insolvent firms in operation during the coronavirus pandemic without fear of legal action. Under current legislation, company boards can be sued for failing to wind up a company if it is

William Fry associate Sarah Plunkett explores the opportunities of using technology to maintain business continuity in the Irish courts during the coronavirus pandemic. The effects of the current outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) have already caused an extensive impact on global economic and social

As we enter the darkest days we have faced since World War Two, the thoughts of the team at Irish Legal News are with our readers and their families – but also with the many law firms which have only recently recovered from the crash of 2008 and its consequences. They now face an even greater

A leading childcare lawyer has paid tribute to legal professionals and courts staff for being "responsible and responsive" in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Gareth Noble, partner at KOD Lyons, told Irish Legal News that new court policies and practice directions introduced in recent days "hav

All court business in Northern Ireland will be consolidated in five courthouses with effect from tomorrow, the Lord Chief Justice, Sir Declan Morgan, has announced. The move follows previous measures announced to slow the spread of coronavirus during the global COVID-19 pandemic and will see only ur

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has said it will closely monitor the Government's use of new emergency powers introduced to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement yesterday, the rights group said new restrictions on non-essential services and outside gatherings were "necessary

Written court judgments will be delivered by email instead of being handed down in court under new measures to tackle the coronavirus outbreak. In a statement this morning, the Courts Service of Ireland said the move had been agreed by the Chief Justice and the presidents of each court jurisdiction

Additional measures to prevent crowding in the Criminal Courts of Justice have been announced after "a glitch in the situation" yesterday. There was unexpected crowding in the courts yesterday morning due to "an unexpected emergency application", a Courts Service spokesperson said.