We are delighted to welcome this guest post by Dr Susan Leahy. Susan is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Limerick. In recent times, a series of cases have highlighted problems with sentencing in sexual offence cases. The trials of Anthony Lyons and Patrick O’Brien have caused many to question whether our criminal justice system(…)
There has been much focus and comment, but no full State apology, for the role that institutions of the State and the Irish people as a whole played in permitting the operation of Magdalene Laundries for over eight decades. The mantra of “never again” rings hollow in light of Ireland’s current practices in containment and control of asylum(…)
In February of this year a most significant decision was handed down by the Supreme Court in the area of criminal procedure. This decision, Damache v DPP [2012] IESC 11 (discussed here), found that s.29(1) of the Offences Against the State Act 1939, which had been in operation for the past 36 years having been inserted(…)
The Working Group on the establishment of the new, enhanced Human Rights and Equality Commission is seeking input and ideas from civil society, members of the public and those interested in the future of human rights and equality in Ireland, on key questions arising from their Terms of Reference. This consultation process will help to(…)
The Minister for Justice and Equality Mr Alan Shatter has announced that he is seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified members of the public to be considered for appointment as Ireland’s representative on the Council of Europe’s European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI). The ECRI’s role is described as follows on the Department’s site:(…)
The Report of the Thornton Hall Project Review Group was published by the Minister for Justice and Equality on Thursday of last week, July 28 2011. The Group was established by the Minister, Alan Shatter T.D., in early April 2011 with specific terms of reference which, basically, provided for a review of the need for(…)
In the aftermath of the publication of the Report into Child Sexual Abuse in the diocese of Cloyne, the status and nature of Irish diplomatic relations with the Holy See have come into sharp focus. The exceptionally strong findings that the Holy See’s dismissal of the Irish Church’s framework guidelines as a “study document” was(…)
Human Rights in Ireland is pleased to bring you this guest post from Claire McCarthy, Policy & Campaigning Officer, at Nasc, The Irish Immigrant Support Centre. Ireland’s human rights record will be examined by our peers in the UN this coming October, when our turn comes up in a new UN process called the Universal(…)
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In a move which shows that our political parties are not always as opposed to ideas put forward by one another as one might think, the Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter, yesterday published the Criminal Justice (Community Service)(Amendment)(No.2) Bill 2011 which is almost identical to the lapsed Criminal Justice (Community Service)(Amendment)(No.2) Bill 2011 published by then(…)
Yesterday and today there has been a great deal of commentary in Ireland on the tragic situations in which children and young people die in the care of the state. This intense commentary and discussion emerged from the publication by Alan Shatter TD of a report emanating from the HSE on the death of Tracey(…)
