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Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Mr James Browne TD, this morning launched the new Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal (LPDT) at the National Gallery, in Dublin.
The LPDT was established under Section 74 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 and its role is to consider complaints of misconduct against solicitors and barristers referred to it from the Legal Services Regulatory Authority’s (LSRA) Complaints Committee or the Law Society of Ireland.
It is a successor body to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and the Barristers Professional Conduct Tribunal.
Minister Browne joined Chairperson of the Tribunal Tom Coughlan and President of the High Court Mary Irvine at the launch.
Following the event, Minister James Browne stated,
“Today is very significant for the legal profession in Ireland. The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal have a crucial role to play in supporting the proper and effective administration of justice and in ensuring that our legal system is independent, strong and effective.
I am delighted to attend this morning’s launch and I look forward to working closely with bodies such as the Tribunal so that we can continue to deliver further improvements and innovations in the Justice sector, as set out in the Justice Plan 2022.”
The commencement of the LPDT’s operations was initially delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but it was brought into effect in November 2020 when President of the High Court Mary Irvine appointed the Tribunal’s 33 members.
The majority of members are non-legal professionals, along with solicitor and barrister members. Under the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015, the Tribunal must be comprised of at least 40% men and at least 40% women.
A 42-year-old Thurles man has appeared at Bandon District Court, charged in connection with the murder of an English national, at his home in west Cork, some four and a half years ago.
Mr Jonathan Ustic, a 51-year-old from Cornwall, was located dead having sustained serious injuries, following an assault at his rented terraced house on High Street in Skibbereen, Co Cork, on September 24th, 2017 last. The father of one, Mr Ustic, had moved to Ireland back in 2005 and had previously lived in Drimoleague and Bantry, Co Cork and in Co Tipperary, having moved from the UK.
Andrew Nash, of Parnell Street in Thurles, Co Tipperary was brought before a special sitting of Bandon District Court today, where he was formally charged with the murder of Mr Ustic.
Detective Sergeant Kevin Long gave evidence of arrest charge and caution of Mr Nash. Gardaí are understood to have arrested Mr Nash this morning at 8:05am in Parnell Street, Thurles, before he was removed to Bandon Garda station for questioning.
Detective Sergeant Long informed the court that he charged Mr Nash with one count of the murder of Mr Ustic at 11:32am today adding that Mr Nash had made no reply when the charge was put to him under caution.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has directed that the accused be sent for trial by indictment at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin.
No application was made for bail at the hearing, however the Defence barrister Mr Peter O’Flynn, for Mr Nash said his client was reserving the right to apply for bail in the High Court.
Mr Justice Roberts assigned free legal aid in the case before remanding Mr Nash in custody to appear before Bandon District Court on Thursday April 7th next.
Father of one Mr Ustic had moved to Ireland in 2005 and had previously lived in Drimoleague and Bantry, Co Cork and in Co Tipperary following his relocation from the UK.
Minister McEntee issues first positive decisions under the Regularisation Scheme for Long-Term Undocumented Migrants.
- Approximately 5,000 applications have been made so far under the 2 strands of the regularisation scheme.
- First permission letters have issued to successful applicants in recent days.
- Minister encourages all those eligible to apply to do so.
Minister for Justice Mrs Helen McEntee TD, has today announced that she has issued the first positive decisions under the Regularisation Scheme for Long-Term Undocumented Migrants, just two months after the Scheme opened for applications.
To date, approximately 5,000 applications have been made to the two strands of the Scheme – the main scheme for people in a long-term undocumented situation, and the international protection strand for people who have been in the asylum process for a minimum of 2 years. Around 250 positive decisions have been made under the two strands in recent days. Processing of all other applications remains ongoing.
Welcoming the positive start to the Scheme, Minister McEntee said,
“We’ve seen a very positive level of engagement with the Scheme since I opened it for applications at the end of January.
We committed to making the online application process as simple and as straightforward as possible and because of this we are now in a position to issue the first positive decisions just two months in.
Permission letters have started to arrive in homes across the country with life changing news for those receiving them and their families. I want to congratulate everyone who has received a letter and to thank them for trusting us and coming forward to regularise their position in the State.
This is just the start and we’ll see more decisions and permissions issuing in the coming weeks.”
The Minister also outlined her plans to encourage more people to apply;
“It’s very important that people who are eligible don’t miss out on the opportunity to apply to this Scheme. We want to build on this early momentum and continue raising awareness of the Scheme. My Department will run a targeted communications campaign in the coming weeks to reach out to migrant communities likely to benefit from the Scheme to encourage them to consider applying.
We are continuing to engage with the NGO community and other stakeholders who have played and will continue to play a key role in building confidence in the Scheme among the more vulnerable members of those migrant communities.
I hope seeing these first positive decisions issuing will encourage more people to apply for what is truly a once-in-a-generation opportunity to regularise their status in the State.”
Minister McEntee encourages all undocumented migrants who are eligible to apply for the main scheme to do so before the closing date of 31 July 2022. Applications can be made online at https://inisonline.jahs.ie.
Further details regarding the qualifying criteria, the required documentation, and how to apply for the scheme are available on the Department’s immigration website at www.irishimmigration.ie/regularisation-of-long-term-undocumented-migrant-scheme.
International protection applicants who have an outstanding application for international protection and have been in the asylum process for a minimum of 2 years have a separate application process. The International Protection Office of the Department has written to approximately 4,000 potentially eligible applicants inviting them to apply. Over 1,300 people from this cohort have applied so far.
The International Protection strand of the Scheme is open for applications until 7 August 2022. Further information can be found on the website of the International Protection Office (Site Redirected) at: www.ipo.gov.ie/en/ipo/pages/whatsnew.
Anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist; former University College Dublin (UCD) professor and unsuccessful Co. Tipperary election candidate, Ms Dolores Cahill, has revealed to a misguided following that she remains hidden in a remote location, following a warrant having been already issued by a Dublin court, for her immediate arrest.
Dolores Cahill, a former member of the minor right-wing, hard Eurosceptic political party in Ireland, which call, themselves, ‘The Irish Freedom Party’, was one of 11 candidates to contest the 2020 Irish General Election, held on Saturday February 8th, 2020, with none of their candidates being successfully elected.
Dolores Cahill, claiming to represent Co. Tipperary, came second-last in the Tipperary constituency, with only a miserable 521 first preference votes. Following her election failure her agents ceased to function, in the removal of her election posters here in Thurles, for almost one year.
The former UCD professor has now admitted that she is actively travelling around Ireland in an attempt not to get arrested and is keeping a low profile for fear of going to prison.
In December 2021 Meta, latter now Facebook’s parent company, removed Dolores Cahill social media page, as part of their crackdown on Covid-19 misinformation on its platform.
Previously, Gardaí had investigating whether Ms Cahill was involved in a group which encouraged a severely ill Covid patient to leave a Co Donegal hospital. Mr Joe McCarron sadly died after being re-admitted to hospital several days later.
A bench warrant for Ms Cahill was issued on January 25th last after the aforementioned failed to appear before a Dublin court on the previous day. Her failed appearance concerned an incident at Dublin Airport on September 6th, 2020, where she was accused of failing to adhere to guidelines and other shortcomings, when asked to comply with the directions of members of An Garda Síochána.
Minister Mrs Helen McEntee publishes Bill to implement biggest reform to judicial appointments in decades.
- Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022 provides clear process for appointing judges.
- New measures mean all candidates, including serving judges, will undergo new application and interview procedures.
- Candidates will be required to undergo judicial training or continuous professional development.
The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee, T.D., has today announced that the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022, was approved by Government earlier this week and will be published shortly.
This represents an important step forward in the reform of the judicial appointments process as committed to by the Minister, most recently in Justice Plan 2022.
This Bill, when enacted, will lead to the biggest reform in the way judges are chosen for appointment in a quarter of a century.
A number of key changes have been made to the Bill from the General Scheme as published by Minister McEntee in December 2020.
The changes include:
* Number of recommendations – 3 persons to be recommended instead of 5 recommendations as provided for in the General Scheme and an additional 2 recommendations for a second and additional vacancies. For example, this would mean seven recommendations for three vacancies
* Only persons recommended by the Judicial Appointments Commission to be recommend by the Government for appointment by the President
* Interviews – Any person – new applicants and serving judges seeking promotion to higher courts – who is to be recommended to the Minister for Justice for appointment should have been interviewed by the Judicial Appointments Commission
* Diversity – The Commission will be required to publish a diversity statement committing to the objective that membership of the judiciary should reflect the diversity of the population as a whole.
* Continuous Professional Development – Candidates will be required to show they have undertaken judicial training or continuous professional development
Minister McEntee said:
“In the hundred years since the foundation of the state, our judges and our judiciary have served us extremely well. In proposing this legislation, I hope that it will enable the continued appointment of excellence judges which are a cornerstone of a strong, independent judiciary.
It is vital that we have a very clear process for judicial appointments, one that people understand and have full confidence in.
The Bill I am publishing today allows for the establishment of a Judicial Appointments Commission of nine members, chaired by the Chief Justice, to replace the current Judicial Appointments Advisory Board.
All 4 lay members of the Commission will be selected and recommended by the Public Appointments Service.
The current JAAB process only concerns first-time judicial appointments, with no statutory advisory role in place relating to appointments from the ranks of serving judges.
This Bill will ensure that anyone who wishes to be considered for appointment to judicial office, including serving judges, will apply to the Commission and undergo the same application and interview processes.
Membership of the judiciary should also reflect the diversity of the population as a whole and a new diversity statement will commit the Judicial Appointments Commission to that objective.
I look forward to working with all members of the Houses of the Oireachtas to bring this legislation to enactment as soon as possible.”
The approval of this Bill follows a substantial process of consultations, in particular with the Attorney General, the European Commission and the Chief Justice.
Commenting on the changes made in the Bill to the General Scheme, Minister McEntee stated:
“In a change from the previously published General Scheme, three persons are to be recommended instead of five, with an additional two recommendations for a second and additional vacancies. This will ensure that we are meeting all of our necessary obligations under EU law.
I am strongly of the view that a candidate should be recommended only after being interviewed, so I have made this a requirement in the Bill.
Additionally, I have included a requirement that judicial appointments will reflect the need for candidates to undergo judicial training or continuous professional development.
I am committed to improving training and continuous professional development right across the justice sector. This is crucial to providing a better service to people who need to engage with our justice system and those who work within it – from our Gardaí to our judges – and I am pleased the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill reflects this priority.”
The Judicial Appointments Commission will set out best practice selection procedures including interviews and the knowledge, skills and attributes required of judges.
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