Law « Thurles Information

New Central Criminal Court Protocol To Expedite Rape & Murder Cases.

Today, (Friday February 21st), marks the launch of a new Central Criminal Court protocol at the Criminal Courts of Justice, to expedite rape and murder cases, latter involving victims and defendants under 18 years of age.

The protocol was drafted by a working group established in April 2024, chaired by Judge Caroline Biggs. The work was undertaken under the aegis of the Criminal Justice Users’ group which is convened by Judge Paul McDermott. The aim of the protocol is to expedite rape and murder cases involving victims and defendants under 18 years of age.
The protocol recognises children’s vulnerability and that delays in the criminal justice system can be detrimental to child victims and child defendants.

The protocol states that in cases involving rape or/and murder involving victims and defendants under 18 years of age reduced timelines for a case to go to trial should be adhered to. The expedited timeline would be 52 weeks approximately and apply to cases in the Central Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ).

As part of the protocol a ‘Court Accompaniment Support Worker’ will be provided for child offenders by the Youth Diversion Projects funded by the Department of Justice. The Court accompaniment is not an advocacy role, but they will explain in laypersons terms, to the young defendant what is happening at various stages of the court proceedings.

New Youth Diversion Projects for Clare and Tipperary.

New Youth Diversion Projects for Tipperary and Clare have been announced.

New projects will achieve Government ambition of nationwide access to YDP services for every young person who needs it.
Foróige chosen to operate new YDPs in East Clare and North Tipperary.

Two new successful applications have been chosen in North Tipperary and East Clare. Following an open application and appraisal process, Foróige have been chosen to operate both projects.

The announcement of the new YDPs will achieve the target as set out in the Youth Justice Strategy of full national coverage of YDPs, ensuring that a service is available to every young person who needs it.
There are currently 100 YDPs throughout the State, including four new projects which were established in 2023, which are now up and running.

Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs) work with young people at risk of crime and anti-social behaviour to divert them away from criminal behaviour and towards better life outcomes.
Funding for YDPs and other Youth Justice measures have increased substantially in recent years, from €18 million in 2020, to a total allocation of just over €33 million in Budget 2025.

The two new YDPs will be part of a wider Joint Commissioning initiative to trial a new collaborative approach to commissioning of relevant services in six pilot areas based on an agreed assessment of the needs of local young people. This approach aims to enhance communication and collaboration between agencies based on principles of the best interest of children and young people.

Youth Diversion Projects are co-funded by the Irish Taxpayers and the European Social Fund, as part of the ESF+ Programme 2021-2027.

Irish Vehicle Drivers To Face Licence Removal Under New Regulations.

Irish Vehicle drivers with the following medical conditions may face licence removal under new Irish regulations.

Drivers across Ireland have been warned of at least five medical conditions that could cause their driving licences to be revoked under new rules.

It is a requirement that thousands of motorists across Ireland must submit what’s called a Medical Form to the National Driver Licence Services every year, if they have any long-term injury or an illness that may affect their ability to drive in complete safety.

Failure to submit this required form, could place drivers at risk of fines, driving bans, or legal action by the Irish authorities. The Road Safety Authority has a comprehensive list of medical conditions, as well as treatments being received, that may affect a drivers ability to hold a driver’s licence.

Hereunder, are five of the major conditions that could cause your licence to be revoked if you do not report them to the authorities:

Epilepsy and Sudden Blackouts.
Heart Conditions (Including Arrhythmia and Heart Attacks).
Severe Vision Impairment.
Diabetes with Severe Hypoglycaemia (Low blood sugar).
Neurological Disorders (Including Dementia and Parkinson’s Disease).

Conditions like Dementia, Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), or Motor Neurone Disease (MND) can also significantly impair reaction time, coordination, and cognitive function, making it absolutely vital that drivers submit a medical form to the NDLS.

The conditions that require motorists to submit a medical report can be found hereunder:

Diabetes treated by insulin and or sulphonylurea tablets (your doctor can advise whether you are on these or not) no need to tell us if managed by other tablets and or diet.
Epilepsy.
Stroke or TIAs (minor strokes) with any associated symptoms lasting longer than one month.
Fits or blackouts.
Any type of brain surgery, brain abscess or severe head Injury involving in-patient treatment or a brain tumour or spinal injury or spinal tumour.
An implanted cardiac pacemaker.
An implanted cardiac defibrillator (ICD)
Repeated attacks of sudden disabling dizziness.
Any other chronic neurological condition such as multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease, or Huntington’s disease.
A serious problem with memory or periods of confusion.
Persistent alcohol misuse or dependency.
Persistent drug misuse or dependency.
Serious psychiatric illness or mental health problems.
Parkinson’s disease.
Sleep Apnoea syndrome.
Narcolepsy.
Any condition affecting your peripheral vision.
Total loss of sight in one eye
Any condition affecting both eyes, or the remaining eye if the driver only has one eye (Not including colour blindness or short or long sight).
A serious hearing deficiency.
Severe learning disability.
Any persistent problems with arms or legs which restricts driving to an automatic vehicle.
Any persistent problems with arms or legs which restricts driving to an adapted vehicle.

How to Check if you may be at risk.

Consult Your Doctor – If you have any of the conditions listed above or suspect a medical issue affecting your driving, seek medical advice immediately.
Check the RSA Guidelines – The RSA provides a full list of reportable conditions on their website.
Take an Eye Test – If you’re unsure about your vision, book an eye test to ensure you meet all legal requirements.

Plastic Bags.

Plastic Bag Levy regulations in Ireland came into operation on July 1st 2007. Today, if a customer requests a plastic bag, the retailer must, generally, since that date, charge €0.22 per plastic bag supplied. Of course there are exceptions; these are for bags of certain sizes, and for bags which contain fresh fruit, unpackaged vegetables, meats and certain other products.

Hereunder, Leitrim native Seamus O’Rourke, writer, director, actor, poet and independent producer extoles the unvirtuous over use of such outer packaging, as only Seamus can.

The plastic bag levy’s primary purpose was to reduce the consumption of disposable plastic bags by influencing consumer behaviour.

Moneys gathered by this levy is, we understand, remitted into the ‘Circular Economy Fund’, which is supposedly used to support initiatives in reducing waste and to promote the reuse and recycling of goods.
On a positive side, it has had a major effect on consumer behaviour since its introduction.
Annual sales of lightweight plastic bags have dropped from a high of more than 130 million to just 8.3 million at the end of 2022, with all the associated benefits for Ireland’s environment.

Alternatives to disposable plastic shopping bags, such as reusable bags are now available in shops around the country, and the consumer has changed to using these alternatives. In the grocery sector, disposable plastic bags have largely been replaced by reusable shopping bags.

Plastic shopping bags designed for re-use are exempt from this levy provided the retailer charges at least 70 cent for each bag.

HSE Alert Public To Excessive Nicotine In Vape Products.

Yesterday the Health Service Executive’s National Environmental Health Service alerted the public to excessive nicotine concentrations found in 4 products, for which European product safety (RAPEX) alerts have been issued.

The products involved are:

Savage Vape. Sub-brands (flavours): Kiwi Passion Fruit Guava 5% Nicotine.
The Crystal PRO MAX 4000+ puff. Sub-brands (flavours): Watermelon Ice Batch No. MAX20230407.
ADADA A8 1200 puff. Sub-brands (flavours): Vanilla Coke.
McKesse MK Bar 7000 12ml. Sub-brand (flavour): Lime Mojito 12ml. Batch Number: Exp: 31/12/2023.

Test results for the four products show that the legal nicotine concentration was exceeded, with sample results ranging between 26.9mg/ml and 30 mg/ml.
The legal nicotine concentration for electronic cigarettes is 20mg/ml.

As a precautionary measure, the HSE are advising consumers to check the electronic cigarettes they may hold, against the products involved in these alerts. If they have any of these products, they should stop using them and return them to the shop where they were purchased. If they have used these products and experienced any ill effects, they should contact their General Practitioner for advice and notify the HSE at info.tpd@hse.ie.

In response, the HSE has contacted distributors and importers of e-cigarettes and refill containers known to them and to make them aware of this issue and will be following up as required.

The message to retailers is:
If you have any of the products as set out above, you must remove them from sale and contactthe HSE at info.tpd@hse.ie providing product and full traceability details.
If you have sold or distributed any of the products above, a recall notice must be displayed in a prominent position in your retail premises and on your website and social media.

Retailers, with any queries in relation to this matter, may contact the HSE at info.tpd@hse.ie.