Law Society of Ireland welcomes ratification of the Programme for Government

The Law Society of Ireland has welcomed news of the ratification of the Programme for Government (PfG), and highlighted the inclusion of some key law and justice priorities.

Launching the Society鈥檚 Programme for Government 2020 Synopsis, Law Society of Ireland President Michele O鈥橞oyle said, 鈥淲e are heartened to see commitments from the Government on some of our priority topics in the public interest across the spectrum of law, crime, justice and reform.鈥

The Synopsis highlights Law Society Priority Achievements across the key topics, including:

Family Law

鈥淭he Society has consistently highlighted the logistical and practical concerns in our family law court system,鈥 Ms O鈥橞oyle noted. 鈥淲e 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.鈥

Insurance reform

Ms O鈥橞oyle explains, 鈥淭he 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 to require that decisive action is taken quickly to protect both individual consumers and the SME sector.鈥

鈥淭he clear prioritisation of insurance reform in the PfG, with specific actions to increase transparency, foster competition and tackle costs, is, I am sure, welcome across all sectors of Irish society and business.鈥 

Hate crime

鈥淭he Law Society has strongly advocated for the Incitement to Hatred Act to be substantially updated. The commitment to introduce hate crime legislation, with a hard deadline, is very welcome.鈥

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.

鈥淭he Law Society looks forward to working with the new Government on these vital issues in the months and years ahead,鈥 Ms O鈥橞oyle concluded.

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