News

The families of the 48 Stardust fire victims are to share €24 million in compensation from the State. An inquest jury ruled in April 2024 that the victims of the 1981 nightclub fire were unlawfully killed. The government subsequently appointed Sara Moorehead SC to negotiate with families on the

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) is to carry out a full investigation into the proposed acquisition of Donegal's Inishowen Independent newspaper. Formpress Publishing, the owner and operator of a number of local and regional newspaper titles across Ireland, is proposing to p

A two-thirds increase in fines imposed on airlines who fail to ensure that passengers have appropriate travel documentation has taken effect. The maximum fine has increased to €5,000 from the previous maximum of €3,000 following the commencement of relevant provisions in the Courts, Civil

Victims of historic miscarriages of justice in England and Wales may not claim back "bed and board" costs deducted from their compensation for the time they spent in prison. Last year, the Conservatives scrapped the policy of making such deductions in the wake of the high-profile Andrew Malkinson ca

A lobby group has said it will seek to have hunters recognised as an ethnic group in the UK in order to protect their "way of life". Hunting Kind says it has obtained an opinion from a senior English barrister which supports its case for "protected status" either as an "ethnic group" or as a group o

New requirements are to be introduced to the process of registering limited partnerships and business names. The Miscellaneous Provisions (Registration of Limited Partnerships and Business Names) Bill will repeal and replace the existing Limited Partnerships Act 1907 and the Registration of Business

A woman who overdosed on anti-seizure medication she was prescribed following brain surgery has reached an £80,000 settlement with a Northern Ireland health trust. O'Reilly Stewart Solicitors acted on behalf of the woman, who had two surgeries in February 2017 to treat a brain tumour and subse

Alleged domestic abusers should be automatically removed from their family home, the children's ombudsman has said. Dr Niall Muldoon told the Irish Independent that allegations of domestic violence should be treated similarly to allegations of sexual abuse in order to prevent women and children from

Coimisiún na Meán has said it is assessing Meta's compliance with the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) after concerns were raised about online death threats against the Taoiseach. A sinister threat against Simon Harris was posted to Instagram and remained live for days, even after An Gard

A round-up of human rights stories from around the world. Venezuela security forces swoop on activists as repression worsens

A senior judge has been disciplined after sending a letter "expressing his love" to a young colleague. Mr Justice Marcus Smith, 57, a former president of the Competition Appeal Tribunal, “passed a handwritten letter” to a woman and referred to his "feelings for her", a ruling from the Ju

The Office of the State Pathologist (OSP) maintained a full complement of staff for most of 2023, according to its latest annual report. The service struggled for a number of years to fill important vacancies, but last year reported that it had found two new deputy State pathologists to fill the rem

Elon Musk's social media company X has agreed to suspend its use of EU users' data to train an AI chatbot. Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) this week launched High Court proceedings under section 134 of the Data Protection Act 2018 for the first time in order to prevent X from using EU dat

Young people should get free Netflix if they surrender illegal knives, the head of Germany's police union has suggested. Jochen Kopelke, federal chair of the Union for Police (GdP), called for a knife amnesty in the wake of a high-profile attack in Stuttgart.

MI5 has been sharply criticised over its late disclosure of materials to Operation Kenova, the long-running investigation into the alleged Provisional IRA informer codenamed “Stakeknife”. In a statement yesterday, PSNI chief constable Jon Boutcher said it was "unacceptable that MI5 conti