Key sites
Irish Legal Guide provides a comprehensive summary of law, tax, and regulation in the Republic of Ireland written by an experienced legal practitioner, Paul McMahon, who has been a practising solicitor in Ireland for over 25 years. The Guide, effectively an Encyclopaedia of Irish Law, explains the law in practical and comprehensible terms and enables the user to gain a thorough understanding of the chosen topic. Each article also provides and indexes the relevant legislation and case law, should the user wish to explore the particular topic further. There is a modest subscription to the site on an ongoing basis but there is a free one-week trial, first of all, to explore the content. You have to register for the free trial but no credit card is required.
Lawyer.ie is a Guide to the Law in the Republic of Ireland. provided by Roddy Tyrrell of Tyrrell solicitors as a resource for lay people to understand the law in Ireland. The site majors on personal injuries, family law and probate/wills but also covers consumer law, company law, taxation, employment, immmigration, insolvency and defamation.
Mainly for Lawyers below here….
BAILII (British and Irish Legal Information Institute) includes over 90 databases covering 7 jurisdictions. The system contains over 36 gigabytes of legal materials and around 300,000 searchable documents with about 15 million internal hypertext links. Under the Irish section, there is:
Ireland Case Law Supreme Court of Ireland Decisions Irish Court of Criminal Appeal Irish Court of Appeal High Court of Ireland Decisions Irish Competition Authority Decisions Irish Information Commissioner’s Decisions Irish Data Protection Commission Case Studies
Irish Legislation Acts of Ireland Statutory Instruments of Ireland
Other Irish Materials Irish Law Reform Commission Papers and Reports Irish Treaty Library
Some of the most recent Irish materials are on a separate site called Irish Legal Information Initiative (IRLII) awaiting placement on BAILII. IRLII is co-ordinated and funded by University College Cork Law Faculty, who also co-ordinate the Irish materials on the BAILII site.
Legalperiodicals.org is a new site set up by the Law Faculty of University College Cork, containing an index of Irish Legal Periodicals from 1997 to the present. The intention is to complement UCC’s contribution to BAILII and IRLII since these sites do not feature journals heavily. Links are provided to the articles online where the copyright holder has allowed access and there is an index of keywords relating to the articles.
The Supreme court of Ireland is the court of final appeal. You can search judgments by year from 2001 onwards. There is extensive information on the site about court itself, the members of the court and the constitutional basis for the legal system in Ireland.
The Houses of the Oireachtas site provides Parliamentary debates from the Dail and Seanad and also (under Legislative Information) listings of Bills presented in both Houses over the same period. The stage reached for each bill can be viewed directly on the site but the full text is only available in pdf format. The Acts from the same period are also available in pdf format on this site but for an online version, The Irish Attorney General’s site (see below) is more useful. The Houses of the Oireachtas site also contains useful links including Political Parties’ and Members’ Web Sites.
The Irish Law Society offers a very useful and practice-based set of resources. Various sections describe the work of the Law Society, its members’ services, trainee services, how to become a solicitor and details of their diplomas and CPD courses. There is a directory of solicitors firms which can be searched by name or location here. You can view details of relevant legal Events, News on current bills and Parliamentary developments, and issues of the Gazette in pdf form. The Library service provides lists of Acts of Parliament passed since 1998 with brief descriptions of the acts and the commencement dates. The Legal Website Links section is very comprehensive and is one of the best sources available for Irish Legal resources.
Senator Feargal Quinn provides a site dedicated to making the Irish Parliamentary Process easy to understand for the ordinary citizen. The main focus on this site is the scrutiny of new laws – about 40 each year – as they go through the legislative process. He uses (and links to) the material on the official Parliamentary site but provides explanations along the way. The site would be perfect for students of law or anyone who is prepared to admit that they do not know it all!
The Irish Attorney General’s Office aims to provide the highest standard of professional legal services to Government, Departments and Offices. The Attorney General is the legal adviser to the Government and is therefore the chief law officer of the State.
The electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB) includes Acts of the Oireachtas and Statutory Instruments, the official versions of which remain the printed versions published by Government Publications. The eISB also includes the Legislation Directory to identify whether a particular provision has been amended or otherwise affected since its enactment.
The Irish Government site provides information about the Irish state, links to all Government Departments and also to Local Authorities and Health Boards. There is a What’s new section, lots of press releases and a set of web links. There are also links to Local Enterprise Office and Citizens Information. Both of these attempt to lay out government information in a user friendly manner.
The Department of Justice and Equality is structured around clusters of Divisions, each headed up by a member of the Management Advisory Committee (MAC), responsible for administration and policy in that area.
The Irish Courts Service (you have to choose your language before you can go anywhere on this site) manages the courts, supports the judiciary and provides a high-quality and professional service to all users of the courts. There is a database of written judgments made available by the Supreme Court from the year 2001, the Court of Criminal Appeal from the year 2004 and the High Court from the year 2004. There is information on Court Fees, Court Forms, Court Rules, Family Law, Going to Court, Jury Service, Practice Directions, Probate, Small Claims Procedure and many other matters.
Human Rights in Ireland is a group academic blog with a focus on human rights issues in Ireland and on Irish scholarship about human rights theory, practice, law and politics more generally. The primary intention behind this blog is to provide an online arena for discussing issues arising in Ireland in relation to human rights. In addition to this, they cover Irish scholarship on human rights, and international and comparative developments. The regular contributors to this blog are academics, mostly lawyers, who are working either in Ireland or abroad and whose work relates broadly to human rights.
Citizens Information is an Irish Government website provided by the Citizens Information Board. The site provides public service information for Ireland. It covers Birth, Family and Relationships, Education and Training, Employment, Environment, European government, Elections and referenda, Health, Housing, Social Welfare and a major section on Justice (see below).
Justice Section of the Citizens Information site, covers Law and rights, Civil law, Criminal law, Law enforcement, Courts system, Courtroom, Arrests, Legal aid and advice, Witnesses, Evidence, Prison system, Probation and welfare services, Victims of crime, Crime and crime prevention, Children and young offenders.
Family Mediation Ireland (FMI) is a private client family mediation service. FMI operate nationwide across the Republic of Ireland and use the co-mediation method for conducting family mediations. Mediations are conducted with one male and one female mediator working with each couple in dispute. Family mediation can be used to Agree the terms of a Divorce or Legal Separation, Resolve child maintenance, guardianship, custody or access arrangements, Resolve a family dispute, Divide property and assets by agreement, Resolve inheritance/probate disputes, Agree ongoing methods/means of communication between people in dispute, Resolve passport or travel issues for children and Resolve issues relating to the schooling of children.
Ombudsman Ireland investigates complaints about administrative action, delay or inaction of Government Departments and Offices, Local Authorities, Health Boards and the postal service. The ombudsman Association provides information on all ombudsmen in the UK and Ireland.
Further sites of interest
Guide to Irish Law by Dr. Darius Whelan, lecturer in law at University College, Cork, is a comprehensive and innovative paper describing the Irish legal system as if to a lawyer or student of law from another country, making full use of legal sources and resources on the web.
This paper was written several years ago but there are updates provided.
Irish Law Links is hosted by University College Cork Law Faculty, and maintained by Darius Whelan. There are sections on the Irish Constitution (in various versions), the Irish and Northern Irish Legal Systems and Courts, Irish and Northern Irish Government Information, Legal Academics and Practitioners, the Peace Process, European Law from an Irish perspective, Miscellaneous Irish links and General Irish Information. There is also a discussion group called IrishLaw for all topics relating to the law of Ireland and/or Northern Ireland and including a list of current legal events coming up. Darius is also one of the people responsible for Irish Legal Information Initiative – IRLII and its relationship as an information source to BAILII.
Irish Law blog (Updates on Irish and Northern Irish Law) is maintained by Darius Whelan, of University College Cork Law Faculty, as above.
Dublin Solicitors Bar Association (DSBA) was set up in 1938 by a group of solicitors who identified the need for an Association of practising solicitors to reflect the views of those practising throughout Dublin and to represent their interests. At that time the number of solicitors throughout Dublin numbered no more than 355 and throughout the country a mere 789 as compared with the three thousand solicitors in Dublin alone today and nearly seven thousand solicitors throughout the country. It is purely and simply a representational body (not the Law Society) – more a “trade union” for solicitors to lobby for the benefit of members and the betterment of the Society.
Legal Island is an employment law training and information company working in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, specialising in all matters relevant to today’s work force in both jurisdictions. They set up large conferences, seminars and in-house training, addressing key developments relevant to the world of work. They also provide an employment law email service written by top law firms, now relied on by hundreds of organisations throughout the Island of Ireland to keep abreast of important developments relating to labour law.
Irish Redress Board was set up under the Residential Institutions Redress Act, 2002 to make fair and reasonable awards to persons who, as children, were abused while resident in industrial schools, reformatories and other institutions subject to state regulation or inspection. The claims are open to anyone who was abused in an Irish Institution at any time although time runs out in December 2005. The Web site provides a general outline of the way in which the Board deals with applications for redress.
Copyright Association of Ireland was formed by a group of people who have an interest in copyright law (whether as legal practitioners, creators of copyright works or as academics). It aims to promote informed debate on copyright, awareness of copyright among users of copyright works, creators of copyright works and the public generally, to examine legislative measures having effect on copyright and to promote informed debate and awareness of copyright by holding conferences and seminars.
British & Irish Legal Education Technology Association (BILETA) was formed in 1986 with the primary objective of promoting technology in legal education throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland.
British and Irish Association of Law Librarians (BIALL) was formed in 1969 to represent effectively the interests of all those involved in law librarianship.
Barrister Kieron Wood’s website contains extensive information on Irish legal matters. It includes the most recent caselaw on Irish defamation and perjury, an update on tenancies and wills, a list of simplified legal terms, the latest on Irish family law, data protection, labour law, access to court documents and how to become an Irish citizen (useful in the case of Brexit!). He has recently published a paperback on General Dwight Eisenhower and his reputed Irish girlfriend, Ike’s Irish Lover (see here) as well as a series of legal works, including the first book on the new Court of Appeal, a paperback on contempt of Parliament and a hefty volume on Irish family law.
Graphite HRM is a company specialising in Human Resource Management and which provides an online reference manual on the translation of employment law into practice. This includes “Personnel Policies and Procedures: The Law in Perspective” which is updated regularly in line with legal changes. The manaul is available on subscription but there are sample sections which can be viewed free of charge on the site.
ComReg is the statutory body responsible for the regulation of the electronic communications sector (telecommunications, radiocommunications and broadcasting transmission) and the postal sector and was established on 1 December 2002.
Finfacts (“the Irish Finance Portal”) is an extensive source of financial and business information (and it includes UK, Europe-wide and USA financial information as well).
