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Figures released by the Minister for Justice on drink driving convictions early this year were wildly misinterpreted last month. Headline reports of low conviction rates spread widely even though they were obviously incorrect, while clarifications issued since have received far less coverage. This is dangerous: incorrect reporting of the statistics has led to a public […]
Rossa McMahon gives guest seminar at UCC IT Law Clinic
On Wednesday (28 October 2015) Rossa McMahon gave a guest seminar to postgraduates at UCC’s IT Law Clinic running a legal guidance service for Irish information technology startups. UCC is a member of iLinc, a European network of information and communications technology law incubators who provide free legal support to startups while giving postgraduate law […]
“Smacking” children to be indefensible
The Government has moved to outlaw the “smacking” of children. In fact, using force against a child is already illegal, but a discipline defence has long been recognised by the courts. Once the law is changed, hitting or smacking a child will no longer be defensible on the grounds of discipline. There are three main […]
5 tips for landlords
There are almost 500,000 single-property landlords in Ireland, accounting for about two thirds of total residential lettings. For these non-professional landlords the many legal obligations involved in renting property and specific conditions that apply to residential tenancies can be a burden. Landlords can avoid unnecessary and unexpected headaches by having everything agreed and knowing their […]
Lessons from Teagasc’s farm succession clinic
As solicitors with broad experience advising farming families we were delighted to be invited by Teagasc to attend their Transferring the Family Farm Clinic for the Limerick/Kerry region which took place today (13 October 2015) in the Devon Inn Hotel, Templeglantine. John Molyneaux and Rossa McMahon met many farming families for one-on-one consultations in a […]
Insurance industry spin shouldn’t dismiss whiplash
The insurance industry has blamed recent car insurance price hikes on the number and cost of personal injury claims. They have yet to support this claim with facts and indeed many of the statistics relied on are dubious. What is routine, however, is a dismissive attitude to whiplash claims. Take these examples: “Motor injury awards […]
5 tips for selling a home
According to AIB’s chief economist, house prices outside Dublin have increased around 10% in the past year. With tentative signs of stability in the housing market more people are taking advantage of comparatively reasonable house prices in some areas and trading up. Auctioneers know what sells and can advise you on how best to market […]
Family farm transfers and the phasing out of consanguinity relief
An important relief from stamp duty frequently availed of in transferring family farms is in the process of being phased out. Anyone considering a farm transfer should be aware of the rules and consider whether they affect future plans. Known as consanguinity relief, the rule halves the rate of stamp duty (from 2% to 1% […]
Drink driving prosecutions after the High Court ruling on language of test results
[Update 13/5/16: This decision has been overturned by the Court of Appeal. Read more here.] A High Court decision delivered on Monday has thrown some drink driving prosecutions into doubt. The Government changed the law on Tuesday in an attempt to solve the problem, but what is the status of existing drink driving prosecutions? The […]
The Kingdom’s Green and Gold
This is one of Garry’s most popular songs – particularly at this time of year. Dúchas You say tradition counts for naught when two teams take the field, I fear you are mistaken, lad, but the years will make you yield, And when your hair’s as grey as mine, and time has made you […]
