News

Asylum seekers and refugees will be able to open accounts at any of Ireland's five retail banks with alternative documentation under new measures. Bank of Ireland announced last month that it would accept specific State-issued paperwork following an intervention by the Irish Human Rights and Equalit

Carson McDowell has become the first independent professional services firm in Northern Ireland to sign the Mindful Business Charter. The firm joins a wide range of businesses and professional service firms around the world in a collective commitment to address the avoidable stresses in our working

Retired occupational therapist Dr Joan Martin has been appointed as a lay member to the Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission (NIJAC). NIJAC is responsible for selecting and appointing, or recommending for appointment, applicants in respect of all listed judicial offices up to and includ

The High Court has approved a personal insolvency arrangement (PIA) that will see a 54-year-old woman continue to make mortgage repayments on her family home until she is 90 years of age. Mr Justice Mark Sanfey approved the PIA in respect of Esther Kirwan from Moycarkey, Thurles, Co Tipperary, in wh

Proposals to abolish the Agricultural Wages Board (AWB) in Northern Ireland have been put to a public consultation. The AWB is responsible for setting of minimum rates of pay and certain terms and conditions for agricultural workers in the agriculture and horticulture sectors.

A woman who allegedly posed as a school student to promote her Instagram account has been charged with trespassing. According to police, 28-year-old Audrey Nicole Francisquini walked into American Senior High School in Miami, Florida dressed as a student and told security she was looking for the reg

The High Court in Belfast has refused to grant leave in judicial review proceedings taken by a solicitor who was referred to the independent Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) for numerous breaches of the Solicitors Accounting Regulations 2014. It was claimed by Mr Paul Kearney, of Kearney Law

The draft heads of a bill to strengthen protections for whistleblowers and transpose the EU Whistleblowing Directive into Irish law have been published. The Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill will bring volunteers, unpaid trainees, board members, shareholders and job applicants within the scope

UK law firm Shoosmiths has become a founding member of Hydrogen NI, a new group established to represent organisations with an interest in developing Northern Ireland's clean hydrogen economy. The new group counts companies such as Phoenix Natural Gas, B9 Energy Storage, Solo Renewables, Green Energ

An additional 17 legal and lay members have been appointed to the construction adjudication panel established under the Construction Contracts Act 2013. The appointments bring the total composition of the panel to five barristers, six solicitors, six architects, seven engineers and 12 quantity surve

Government plans to restrict asylum claims from people entering the UK without authorisation will place vulnerable children in extreme danger, the Children's Law Centre (CLC) has warned. The UK government confirmed in the Queen’s Speech that it intends to bring legislation to “establish

Wide injunctions against "persons unknown" cannot be used by local authorities to place a blanket ban on Gypsies and Travellers stopping on public land, the High Court in London has ruled. In a landmark judgment, Mr Justice Nicklin ruled that wide injunctions can only be granted against individuals

The Law Societies of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland have condemned Chinese sanctions against lawyers. They said in a statement that they "unreservedly condemn the recent announcement by the Government of the People’s Republic of China of sanctions against lawyers for providing legal ad

Staff at Northern Ireland firm Cleaver Fulton Rankin continued to volunteer in the community during the Covid-19 pandemic through virtual workshops and telephone calls, a new report reveals. The firm's 2021 Corporate Social Responsibility Report notes that the pandemic "had a significant impact on t

Pokémon trading cards have been pulled from the shelves of one of the biggest US retailers in a bid to protect staff from rowdy fans. The resale value of Pokémon cards has sky-rocketed in the past year, leading to tense confrontations in stores, The Guardian reports.