An additional 20 Judges to be appointed on a phased basis as part of the continuing implementation of the Judicial Planning Working Group Report.
Approval follows assessment of impact of 24 new judges appointed in 2023 – shown to have had a positive impact on number of court sittings, number of cases resolved and waiting times.
Additional 20 appointments will support the establishment of the Family Courts.
Approval has been received for 20 additional judges to be appointed on a phased basis, to support timely access to justice across the courts system. The report from the Judicial Planning Working Group, (set up in February 2021) in their final report published in 2023, recommended the appointment of 44 additional judges in two phases.
A first phase of 24 additional judges was approved and appointed throughout 2023. This built on other judicial appointments brought the total number of additional appointments to 31. Following the completion of an assessment on the impact of the judges appointed in Phase 1 and progress made in other areas of the report’s implementation, the appointment of a second phase of 20 additional judges has now been approved.
The impact assessment also highlighted the need for Phase 2 of additional judicial resources to build on the progress already made.
Areas identified for continued focus to enhance the timely administration of justice across the courts include:
Further reducing waiting times and increasing clearance rates.
Enabling the courts to support new and growing areas of business.
Facilitating additional training days for judges to ensure that the Judiciary are attuned to the needs of victims and equipped to deal with increasing case complexity.
Actions which have been delivered in the first phase of judicial expansion include:
An initial trial project to stagger the court vacation was ran in the High Court this summer.
The Presidents of the Circuit and District Courts are working with the Courts Service to develop protocols for scheduling sittings on all five working days of the week (Monday – Friday).
Cases are being stacked in the same courtroom where feasible (i.e. one judge conducts a hearing in the morning and another judge conducts a hearing in the afternoon in the same courtroom) and to increase the use of hybrid and remote hearings to maximise the use of courtroom space.
A report has been completed which has examined further reforms to empower the Court Presidents to ensure the maximum and efficient use of judicial resources in their court jurisdictions.
A stakeholder engagement group, which comprises representatives of the Department, the Courts Service, judicial observers and affected stakeholders, continues to meet regularly to consider the impact of the implementation of the JPWG recommendations on stakeholders and to identify cross-organisational efficiencies, which may arise in this context.
Thurles resident and Tipperary Fianna Fáil TD Mr Jackie Cahill has announced that he will not contest the upcoming General Election. In a statement last night, Mr Cahill said he had made this decision following health advice.
Mr Cahill stated that being an effective TD requires a great deal of time and energy, and he believes that both personally and professionally he would be unable to continue to make this commitment to his electorate for another five years period.
Prior to becoming a TD, Mr Cahill served on Tipperary County Council from 2014. From 2020 last, he has served as the chair of the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee and was previously the national president of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association.
Fianna Fáil will now begin a candidate replacement selection process and will be in contact with members in the North Tipperary/North West Kilkenny in relation to his successor.
We understand that the current three party government leaders have agreed that the general election will take place in 2024. However, the Tánaiste Mr Micheál Martin has ruled out any formal voting pact between coalition partners. Fine Gael has appointed former Laois Offaly TD Ms Olwyn Enright as its national director of elections. Ms Enright said she expects the party will have between 75 and 80 candidates running in the next election, with 71 candidates already selected across 41 constituencies.
Legislation will Establish the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland.
Introduce a modern and robust licencing and regulatory framework for both in-person and online gambling.
Establish a National Gambling Exclusion Register.
Introduce tight restrictions on gambling advertising.
Introduce a Social Impact Fund to support educational measures and problem gambling treatment activities.
CEO Designate of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland has been progressing important preparatory work.
The Gambling Regulation Bill, 2022, has passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas. The legislation sets out the framework and legislative basis for the establishment of a new, independent statutory body, Údarás Rialála Cearrbhachais na hÉireann, (the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland) and for a modern and robust licencing and regulatory framework for both in-person and online gambling.
Painting by Italian artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610), “The Cardsharps.” (painted c.1594).
The Bill provides for the establishment and operation of the National Gambling Exclusion Register and introduces tight restrictions on the advertisement of gambling activities. It also provides for the creation of a Social Impact Fund to support awareness–raising and educational measures and to support problem gambling treatment activities.
With regard to black market operators, the Bill contains a suite of measures to address illegal or criminal gambling activity and includes explicit prohibitions on illegal activity or practices, some of which could result in significant custodial sentences.
Once the Bill is enacted, the GRAI will be established with a seven-person authority. A Programme Board has been established in the Department of Justice to ensure that the legislation and the operational preparations are progressed in parallel, allowing the Authority to commence operations, on a phased basis, as soon as possible, after enactment and appointment of the Authority members. Ms Anne Marie Caulfield has been appointed to the role of CEO Designate of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland and has been progressing important preparatory work.
As part of Budget 2025 announced on October 1st last, the GRAI will receive €9.1m in 2025, including €4m of ICT capital investment.
New independent Commission will select and recommend candidates for all judicial offices in Ireland and in EU and international courts.
A new application and interview process will apply to all judicial vacancies.
Candidates will be required to undergo continuous professional development.
Legislation providing for the establishment of the Judicial Appointments Commission on 1st January 2025 has commenced today. This marks the most substantial reform in the way judges are chosen for appointment in almost thirty years. The Judicial Appointments Commission Act establishes a new, independent Judicial Appointments Commission to select and recommend persons for all judicial offices in Ireland; in the EU and International courts.
The new reforms provided for, include:
Reduction in the number of recommendations: 3 candidates to be recommended for a vacancy and an additional 2 recommendations for a second and additional vacancies. For example, this would mean 7 recommendations for 3 vacancies.
Only candidates recommended by the Judicial Appointments Commission to be nominated by the Government for appointment by the President.
All judicial posts, whether a first appointment or a promotion from another court will be governed by the procedure.
Interviews: For the first time, all nominees will have been interviewed.
Diversity: The Commission will have the objective that membership of the judiciary should reflect the diversity of the population as a whole.
Continuous Professional Development: Candidates will be required to show they have undertaken judicial training or continuous professional development.
The Judicial Appointments Commission will set out best practice selection procedures including interviews and the knowledge, skills and attributes required of judges.
Commission Membership. Membership of the Judicial Appointments Commission, which will be chaired by Chief Justice, The Hon. Mr. Justice Donal O’Donnell and will include:- The Hon. Ms. Justice Caroline Costello, (President of the Court of Appeal). Attorney General Rossa Fanning(SC). The Hon. Ms. Justice Mary Rose Gearty, (High Court). Judge Alan Mitchell, (District Court). Ms. Bernie Gray, (Human Resources and Governance expert). Dr. Eleanor O’Higgins, (Adjunct Associate Professor, College of Business, University College Dublin and Associate, London School of Economics and Political Science). Dr. Rónán Kennedy, (Associate Professor in the School of Law, University of Galway). Dr. Terrence McWade, (Former CEO of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland).
The Judicial Appointments Commission will be established from January 1st, 2025.
Breast cancer awareness month 2024 began on Tuesday, October 1st and will continue until Thursday October 31st next.
All Irish Supermarkets, over the past two years, have significantly increased their retail prices on many items and yes, to my thinking, both breast cancer and Supermarket products are both inextricably linked, presently leaving both impossible to disentangle or separate.
My focus here in Thurles today was attracted to a product offered in plastic wrapping, containing 5Bockwurst Sausages, (asking price €4.29). The product is manufactured by the German firm Dulano, latter who claim ‘Farm to fork” traceability.
Bockwurst is a German sausage traditionally made from ground pork or veal, but tending more towards veal. Bockwurst is flavoured with salt, white pepper and paprika. Other herbs, such as marjoram, chives and parsley, are also often added and in Germany, Bockwurst is often smoked as well.
Nowadays, it can be purchased all year round almost everywhere in Germany, in butcher’s shops, cheaper restaurants, snack bars, food booths, some bakeries and even gas stations. Here in Thurles Co. Tipperary it can be purchased from the German International discount retailer chain Lidl, same which operate over 12,000 stores within the European Union.
Yuka Application: View HERE Using the 100% independent, free ‘Yuka App’, which it is now imperative for everyone shopping in supermarkets to download to their smart phones, (because of its welcome ability to decipher product labels, while analysing the health impact of most food products and cosmetics, via their barcode,) we are disappointed and alarmed to learn the following information:-
On the ‘Yuka App’, the Bockwurst Sausages product is declared ‘BAD’, and is rated at 0 out of 100, because of two hazardous additives, plus containing two much fat, and two much sodium.
The two hazardous preservatives are identified as being (1)Sodium Nitrite, (2)Diphosphates,
(1) Sodium Nitrite: Sodium nitration is hazardous and when combined with certain foods, nitrites may contribute to the development of nitrosamines, compounds classified by the international agency for research on cancer (IARC) as “probably carcinogenic to humans”. In 2022 the French agency for food environmental and occupational health and safety (ANSES) confirmed the carcinogenic and genotoxic effects of these compounds and recommended limiting the use of nitrate/nitrite additions in food products.
(2) Diphosphates:(Texturizing agent). Phosphate contains phosphorus a chemical element that is essential to the body. However excess phosphorus can disrupt bone mineralization; damage the kidneys, and increased the risk of cardiovascular disease and breast cancer the (EFSA) European food safety has indicated that phosphorus consumption exceeds the safe level of intake for part of the population.
This is just one of many products to be found in each of our Thurles supermarkets, placed there with no regard for consumers health; and retailed solely to generate massive profits.
We wonder why cancer is rapidly increasing and why our Irish hospitals are continuously overcrowded!The answer is most likely to be found in the food products located on our supermarket shelves, ignored by a VAT greedy government.
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