Minister Alan Shatter published Heads of the Criminal Justice (Withholding Information on Crimes Against Children and Vulnerable Adults) Bill  on Wednesday 13 July. (The date of the publication of the Cloyne Report). This Bill will render it a criminal offence for an individual to fail without reasonable excuse to disclose information which might be of material assistance in securing the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of a person who commits a serious offence against a child or a vulnerable adult or if he or she knows such offence has been committed and fails to so inform the Gardaí. The detail of this Bill is currently under consideration by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality.  The Bill in final form will be published and debated in the Dáil in the autumn session.

Minister for Justice, Equality and
Defence, Alan Shatter TD has welcomed Dáil approval of the Property Services (Regulation) Bill 2009. Minister Shatter said that amendments he had tabled and which had been accepted during its passage through the Dáil, would introduce much-needed transparency to the residential and commercial property markets. This was a commitment in the Programme for Government which he was pleased to be in a position to discharge in this legislation.

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The Twenty-Ninth Amendment Of The Constitution (Judges’ Remuneration) Act 2011 enables the Houses of the Oireachtas apply to the judiciary the same pension levy and salary reductions that have applied to related pay scales across the public service. The wording for the required constitutional amendment was developed by Minister Alan Shatter Continue reading »

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter, TD today published the Legal Services Regulation Bill and Explanatory Memorandum. In addition to giving effect to key structural reforms included in the Programme for National Recovery 2011-2016, the Bill also meets a number of the State’s key commitments in the EU/IMF Programme of Financial Support for Ireland aimed at structural reform building on the recommendations of the Legal Costs Working Group and the Competition Authority. Continue reading »

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter, TD today published the Legal Services Regulation Bill and Explanatory Memorandum. In addition to giving effect to key structural reforms included in the Programme for National Recovery 2011-2016, the Bill also meets a number of the State’s key commitments in the EU/IMF Programme of Financial Support for Ireland aimed at structural reform building on the recommendations of the Legal Costs Working Group and the Competition Authority. Continue reading »

Minister Alan Shatter published, on 27th July, the Heads of  the National Vetting Bureau Bill 2011 which will make statutory provision for the vetting of persons employed in circumstances where they have access to children and for the use of soft information. The detail of the Bill is currently under consideration by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality. The Bill is to be published in final form and debated in the Dáil in the autumn session.

Government on 26th July approved the publication of the European Arrest Warrant (Application to Third Countries and Amendment) and Extradition (Amendment) Bill 2011.  The Bill was published by Minister Alan Shatter on 10^th August.  Continue reading »

Minister Shatter steered through the Oireachtas the Criminal Justice (Community Service) (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2011,  which imposes an obligation on the courts when considering imposing a sentence of 12 months or less on a convicted offender to first consider requiring the offender to undertake community service. Continue reading »