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Home » Archives for November 2012

Injustice

What is the economic cost of a proper defence? Inevitably, it will vary from case to case, but Clive Stafford Smith estimates that 1,000 hours will be needed for the task. That’s 83 days. Now assume an hourly rate for the lawyer at €300 (because that is less than the rate allowed by the Irish High Court for some company liquidators) and we can work out the cost of the defence, – €300,000.

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Savita Halappanavar and HIQA

The questions set out below are relevant questions for any effective inquiry into the death of Savita Halappanavar . A HIQA inquiry cannot ask those questions, and if it did, the medical practitioner need not reply.

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How to request your Medical Records and pay less

Hospitals and doctors’ offices in Ireland will give a person their medical records if they ask for them. Mostly. Eventually. When they get to it. And, sometimes, if you pay them over €100 (for a large file). But, like so much else in the legal world, there is a set of magic words you can incant to place a 40 day deadline on the delivery of your papers and limit the cost to €6.35. You invoke the Data Protection Acts […]

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How (and why) to complain about an unwanted political Automatic Phone Call

There are reports today of people receiving automatic dialling machine telephone calls relating to Ireland’s abortion legislation. Any group using these sorts of ‘robo-dialling’ systems, which are common in the USA, should first make themselves aware of the restrictions in this jurisdiction on this sort of communication. Directive 97/66/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 1997 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the telecommunications sector (or The Directive, to […]

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How to get rid of a NUI Senator

  Although the Government has committed itself to holding a referendum to abolish the Seanad, institutions tend to be resilient and governments who have difficulties tend not to call avoidable referenda. That being the case, what should you do if you really wish one of the NUI Senators didn’t keep being elected? Whether it is Senator Ronan Mullen with his words, Senator Prof. John Crown with his trying to stop people dying of cancer or Senator Fergal Quinn with his […]

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Lucinda Creighton’s legal bill

Why should anybody get legal aid in such a case? Because without some funding help, a person might not get justice. It is impractical to think that justice is possible for a lay litigant.

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High Court Personal Injury trials

If a Defendant knows that the system will deliver a judgment for the Plaintiff and knows what the compensation for the Plaintiff is likely to be only two issues remain to be vouchsafed; that the costs will increase with the passing of time and that those costs will have to be met by the Defendant.

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The Medical Council’s Guidance on Abortion

The Medical Council is the professional governing body for doctors in Ireland. It describes its role as being “responsible for protecting the public by promoting and better ensuring high standards of professional conduct and professional education, training and competence among doctors. Doctors must always be guided by their primary responsibility to act in the best interests of their patients.” To aid Doctors in meeting those responsibilities in difficult situations, the Medical Council has produced The Guide to Professional Conduct and […]

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RTE Digital and the value of the licence fee

Last Saturday I spoke at the National Media Conference. It was an excellently organised day. I was embarrassed to be sent out with the quality of experts they had assembled. After all, unlike all the people speaking who make their living in the media, I have no more expertise than any other reader in their industry. Nonetheless, having participated in a refreshingly sane and reasonable discussion about the meaning and impact of Leveson to the media here, I went next […]

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Corrib Gas update

The State parties appealed the judgment of Laffoy J. to the Supreme Court. The appeal came on for hearing before the Supreme Court on 24th October 2012 and finished that day. Judgment has been reserved.

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