The office of Fianna Fáil TD Ryan O’Meara, situated in Thurles, have been vandalised sometime within the past 24 hours. The incident took place at his rented premises on the junction of Parnell Street and Cuchulain Road, latter a busy local landmark, better known as Hanafin’s Corner.
Office of Fianna Fáil TD Ryan O’Meara vandalised in Thurles.
This was not protest, nor was it political expression, it was pure vandalism. Whoever carried it out has shown nothing but disrespect for the local community and also for the democratic process.
Disagreeing with a public representative is one thing; attempting to intimidate or deface their workplace is quite another. Acts like this achieve nothing but division and damage the very tone of public life.
In a democracy, there are proper channels to voice frustration; through open debate, the ballot box, and community engagement. Resorting to mindless destruction is a coward’s substitute for reasoned argument.
No doubt local people will express shock and disappointment at the incident, and it is expected Gardaí will investigate. Those responsible should be ashamed of their actions, they have let down not only themselves but the town of Thurles as a whole.
Government gives approval to progress the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences, Domestic Violence and International Instruments) Bill 2025.
Bill will includes measures to:
Introduce ‘Jennie’s Law’ – a new publicly accessible Domestic Violence Register of Judgements managed by the Courts Service
Strengthen the law on sexual consent
Replace the term ‘child pornography’ in legislation with more appropriate term of ‘child sexual abuse material’
The Irish Government has approved the drafting of legislation to establish a publicly accessible Domestic Violence Register of Judgements, same to be published by the Courts Service. This new law will allow those convicted of domestic violence against a partner or former partner, to be publicly named on this Register of Judgements.
The General Scheme of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences, Domestic Violence and International Instruments) Bill 2025 will also:
Strengthen the law on sexual consent.
Bolster our legislation on preventing and combating human trafficking;
Remove dual criminality in respect of certain offences including forced marriage; and
Replace references to “child pornography” with “child sexual abuse material” in legislation and in legal proceedings.
The General Scheme will now be referred to the Justice Committee for pre-legislative scrutiny and, when its report is received, work on finalising the Bill will be prioritised.
In practice, this means that when a person says they thought the other person had consented to sexual activity, this must be based on objective circumstances and not simply be the subjective belief of the accused. Under the new legislation this will apply not just to sexual intercourse but to all types of sexual activity between adults.
The proposed Register of Domestic Violence Judgements is a mechanism to facilitate publication of written judgments following conviction on indictment for serious offences relating to domestic violence, setting out details of the offence, the perpetrator, and other relevant information. Once issued, judgments will be published on the Courts Service website. The Court will retain the discretion to decide if a judgment should be delivered in a specific case, and the victim must provide their consent. The Register of Domestic Violence judgments will also signpost users to guidance on reporting domestic violence incidents and information on domestic violence supports.
In line with EU obligations and Council of Europe recommendations, the General Scheme also removes the requirement for dual criminality for sexual violence offences including rape, forced marriage, female genital mutilation and forced abortion and forced sterilisation. Until now, if such offences were committed abroad by an Irish citizen, they could not be prosecuted by the State unless this behaviour was also a crime in the place where it occurred.
The EU Asylum Agency to assist the International Protection Appeals Tribunal with an increasing appeal caseload.
The European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) is an agency of the European Union mandated with supporting Member States in applying the package of EU laws that governs asylum, international protection and reception conditions, known as the Common European Asylum System (CEAS).
The EUAA Regulation allows Member States to request operational support from the Agency when their asylum or reception systems come under pressure.
Ireland has also opted into the relevant instruments of the Pact on Migration and Asylum and is benefiting from significant financial support under the Technical Support Instrument (TSI) to assist in the implementation of the Pact in June 2026.
The Irish government yesterday announced that Ireland has signed an Operational Plan with the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) that aims to assist the International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT) with processing appeals lodged against first instance decisions.
Ireland, like other EU Member States, saw an increase in applicants for international protection over the last years, with numbers increasing from 2,649 in 2021 to 18,561 in 2024. This increase has significantly impacted the appeal system, with around 15,929 cases pending appeal at the end of September 2025. In 2025, as of October 5th, 10,836 International Protection Appeals have been accepted.
This agreement with the EUAA for further supports is seen as a welcome addition and will help to speed up the decision timeframes in the Tribunal, ultimately resulting in reduced time frames for appeals.
Under the agreement, up to 30 EUAA personnel will be deployed to support the Tribunal’s work. This work includes preparing appeal files, conducting research on country-of-origin information and international protection jurisprudence, and providing interpretation in difficult-to-source languages.
The plan will be valid until December 31st 2026 and will allow the Tribunal to make best use of its resources while introducing new structures and processes required under the Pact.
It has been confirmed and indeed welcomed, this morning, that just over 11,100 people have applied to join An Garda Síochána in 2025.
There was significant interest in the most recent competition, with 4,334 applications made in addition to the 6,784 applications received in the February 2025 competition.
These competitions are conducted by publicjobs on behalf of An Garda Síochána.
The Supreme Court has refused convicted fraudster Agne Khan permission to appeal a Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) ruling that saw property and cash seized as the proceeds of crime.
Ms Khan and her husband Khurram were at the centre of a €3.5 million international cybercrime fraud which used Irish companies to launder money. Her firm, Nida Investments Ltd, was targeted by CAB, which seized a garage forecourt in Ballywilliam, Co Tipperary, and €16,000 held in a bank account.
In a written judgment last week, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal, noting it had been lodged six months late and that Nida Investments had already appealed unsuccessfully to the Court of Appeal.
The court said there were no issues of general public importance or exceptional circumstances to justify a further hearing.
Ms Khan had previously been told she could not legally represent the company herself, after two solicitors came off record, one citing an irreparable breakdown in “trust and confidence.” She did not appear in court for either the High Court or appeal hearings.
Judge Mr Alex Owens previously found there was “no doubt” that the €66,000 Tipperary property was bought with criminal proceeds and appointed a receiver to take control of it. He described Nida Investments and another Khan firm, Autology Ltd, as “steeped in fraud.”
A separate motor business run by the couple from the same premises closed in 2018 following a Revenue investigation, leaving an unpaid tax bill of €623,000.
The Supreme Court’s decision brings Ms Khan’s legal challenge to a close.
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