Passage of Courts, Civil Law, Criminal Law & Superannuation Bill Welcomed.

Passage of Courts, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 Welcomed.

• Mandatory retirement age for uniformed public servants to increase from 60 to 62 years for those who wish to avail of it.
• Carrier liability fines to increase where airlines allow passengers to board without proper documentation.
• Maximum penalties for a number of serious knife-related offences to increase.

The passage of the Courts, Civil Law, Criminal Law and Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 has been welcomed today.

This Bill will allow for an increase in the mandatory retirement for uniformed public servants, including members of An Garda Síochána, Prison Officers and the Defence Forces, from 60 to 62 years of age, for those who wish to avail of it

The Bill will also increase the maximum fines payable by airline and ferry companies, where they allow someone to travel into the Irish State without proper documentation.

The Bill restores the power of the Minister for Justice to revoke certificates of naturalisation. The Damache Judgement in the Supreme Court found the process lacked necessary safeguards.
The circumstances in which certificates can be revoked remains unchanged and include where a person poses a security risk to the State or where citizenship was obtained through fraudulent means.

The Bill will also increase the maximum penalties, upon conviction on indictment, for the following four knife-related offences;

1. Possession in a public place of an article intended to cause injury to, incapacitate or intimidate the person.
2. Trespass with a knife, weapon of offence or other article which has a blade or sharp point.
3. Production of an article capable of inflicting serious injury.
4. Manufacture, sale, hire etc. of offensive weapons, (of such description as may be specified by Ministerial order).

The Bill also includes a number of amendments to the Judicial Council Act 2019, to provide for changes to the personal injuries guidelines to address issues identified by the Supreme Court in the recent Delaney case.