Michele O’Boyle

Launching the Society’s Programme for Government 2020 Synopsis, Law Society of Ireland President Michele O’Boyle said: “We are heartened to see commitments from the Government on some our priority topics in the public interest across the spectrum of law, crime, justice and reform.”

The Synopsis highlights Law Society priority achievements across the key topics.

“The Society has consistently highlighted the crisis in our family law court system,” Ms O’Boyle noted. “We welcome the commitments within the PfG on a Family Court Bill, as well as a new Family Law Court building in Dublin and ensuring facilities around the country are suitable for family law hearings.”

Concerning insurance reform, Ms O’Boyle said: “The Law Society has long advocated for substantial reform of the insurance industry. As we face into a period of widespread economic uncertainty, it has never been more important that decisive action is taken quickly to protect both individual consumers and the SME sector.”

“The clear prioritisation of insurance reform in the PfG, with specific actions to increase transparency, foster competition and tackle costs, is, I’m sure, hugely welcome across all sectors of Irish Society and business.”

Referring to hate crime, she commented: “The Law Society has strongly advocated for the Incitement to Hatred Act to be substantially updated, so the commitment to introduce hate crime legislation, with a hard deadline, is most welcome.”

Other topics included in the PfG which are welcomed by the Society include specific action to protect victims of crime and the establishment of an Online Safety Commissioner to consider the issue of harmful content with a view to enhancing user safety online.

“The Law Society looks forward to working with the new Government on these vital issues in the months and years ahead,” Ms O’Boyle concluded.