Ireland

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Part of the Comparative law and justice Wikiversity Project

Contents 1 Basic Information 1.1 Economic Development, Health, and Education 1.2 Brief History 2 Governance 2.1 Elections 2.2 Judicial Review 3 Courts and Criminal Law 3.1 Punishment 3.2 Legal Personnel 3.3 Law Enforcement 4 Rights 4.1 Family Law 4.2 Social Inequality 4.3 Human Rights 5 Works Cited

[edit] Basic Information

Ireland is located in Western Europe in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain.

The geographic coordinates for the country of Ireland are 53 00 N, 8 00 W.  

Ireland is 70,273 km (43,666 miles)in total size. 68,883 sq km (26, 596 sq miles)of Ireland is actual land, and 1,390 sq km (537 sq miles)are of water.

To compare the total size of Ireland is somewhat larger than the state of West Virginia. 
The total coastline in Ireland is 1,448 km (900 miles).  

The climate is constantly humid with overcast about half of the time. The temperature is maritime and controlled by the North Atlantic Ocean. The summers are cool and the winters are mild.

The terrain is mostly level to rolling surrounded by harsh hills and low mountains.Sea cliffs are on the West coast. 

The lowest point in Ireland is the Atlantic Ocean at 0 m. (0 miles).

The highest point is Carrauntoohil at 1,041 m (.65 miles).  

The natural resources avaliable in Ireland are natural gas, peat, copper, lead, zinc, silver, barite, gypsum, limestone, and dolomite. The current envioprmental issues are water pollution espically of lakes because of agricultural runoff. According to the CIA the total population of Ireland is 4,203,200 as of July 2009. 20.9% are between the ages of 0-14. 67.1% are of the ages of 15-64, and 12% are 65 years of age and above. The median age of all citizens is 35. (males 34.2 and females 35.7).

[1]

[edit] Economic Development, Health, and Education

[edit] Brief History

[edit] Governance

Ireland is a sovereign, independent, democratic state with a parliamentary system of government. The president is the head of state and is elected for a 7-year term and can be re-elected only once. The current president is Mary McAleese, who is serving her second term after having succeeded President Mary Robinson. In carrying out certain constitutional powers and functions, the president is aided by the Council of State, an advisory body. If the Prime Minister advises so the President has the power to dissolve Parlament.

"The prime minister (Taoiseach, pronounced 'TEE-shuck') is elected by the Dail (lower house of Parliament) as the leader of the political party, or coalition of parties, which wins the most seats in the national elections, held approximately every 5 years (unless called earlier). Executive power is vested in a cabinet whose ministers are nominated by the Taoiseach and approved by the Dail." ^[2]

Parlament is a bicameral branch of government such as it is here and has two houses simillar to ours. The Oireachtas is comparable to our Senate and the Dail Eireann is comparable to our House of Represenatives. The Seanad is made up of sixty members, eleven nominated by the Prime Minister, six elected by national universities, and fourty-three elected from panels established from a vocational basis. "The Seanad has the power to delay legislative proposals and is allowed 90 days to consider and amend bills sent to it by the Dail, which wields greater power in Parliament. The Dail has 166 members popularly elected to a maximum term of 5 years under a complex system of proportional representation. A member of the Dail is known as a Teachta Dala, or TD." ^[3]

Judges are appointed by the president and can be removed from office only because of acting inresponsibly or not being able to do job as fit. Both houses of Parlament have to agree for this to happen. "The ultimate court of appeal is the Supreme Court, consisting of the chief justice and five other justices. The Supreme Court also can decide upon the constitutionality of legislative acts if the president asks for an opinion." ^[4]

"Local government is by elected county councils and--in the cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, and Waterford--by county borough corporations. County councils/corporations in turn select city mayors. In practice, however, authority remains with the central government." ^[5]

The two main political parties in Ireland are Fianna Fail and Finw Fine Gael. Fianna Fail was formed by the citizens of Ireland that were against the 1921 treaty that sepereated the island. Fianna Fail is Irelands largest political party. Fine Gael represents the citizens that were pro the 1921 treaty. Fine Gael form the second largest political party in Ireland.

In May 2002 the national elections gave Finne Fail majority power along with the teammates the Progressive Democrates. Prime Minister Ahern was re-elected and Mary Harney is re-elected as deputy prime minister.

"The GFA established a power-sharing legislative assembly to serve as the autonomous local government of Northern Ireland. The 108-member Northern Ireland Assembly is led by a first minister and deputy first minister, one from each of the two communities, and a 10-minister executive. The GFA also provided for changes in both the British and Irish constitutions. Ireland ceded territorial claim to Northern Ireland, and the U.K. agreed that Northern Ireland could become part of Ireland if a majority (North and South) so voted in the future. Finally, the GFA provided the blueprint for 'normalization,' to include the eventual removal of British forces, devolution of police and justice functions, and guarantees of human rights and equal opportunity for all individuals. The agreement was approved in a 1998 referendum by 71% of Northern Ireland voters and 95% of Irish voters." ^[6]

"Principal Government Officials President--Mary McAleese Taoiseach (Prime Minister)--Bertie Ahern Tanaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform--Michael McDowell Ambassador to the United States--Noel Fahey" ^[7]

"Government type: republic, parliamentary democracy." ^[8]

[edit] Elections

[edit] Judicial Review

This is a brochure I found on a web-site ment to help citizens of Ireland in the Judicial Review process. I thought it was fit for this section. This brochure spells out what to do for a Judicial review, all the steps, and what the outcomes may or may not be and why. "Public Law Project Information Leaflet 2 © Public Law Project 2006 1 What is judicial review? 1. What kind of decision can I challenge? Public law is the set of legal principles governing the exercise of power by public bodies. If a public body makes a decision in breach of any public law principle then that decision may be challenged. Briefly, a decision may be unlawful if:  the decision-maker does not have power to make that decision, or is using the power they have for an improper purpose;  the decision is irrational;  the procedure followed by the decision-maker was unfair or biased;  the decision was taken in breach of the Human Rights Act; or  the decision breaches European Community (EC) law. It is also unlawful for a public body not to do something it has a duty to do. For more information about public bodies and unlawful decisions, please see the first leaflet in this series, “How can public law help me?”. 2. What ways are there of challenging a decision or a failure to act? These are the main ways of challenging a decision or a failure to act you think is wrong: 1. You can make an official complaint using the public body’s Complaints Procedure. 2. You can complain to an Ombudsman. You usually have to go through the Complaint’s procedure first. 3. You can ask the public body to go to mediation or other form of ‘alternative dispute resolution’. 4. In some contexts, there is a tribunal or statutory appeal available, e.g. in immigration law and social security law. 5. You can ask a judge to examine the decision using court proceedings called ‘judicial review’ if there is no suitable alternative remedy. The best method to use will depend on the particular circumstances of each case. As a general rule it is best to try to resolve the problem with an ‘informal’ complaint first and then resort to other methods if that does not work. However, you should bear in mind that if you do have grounds to bring a judicial review case, it must be brought to court as soon as possible and almost always within three months of the decision or action being challenged to avoid time limit problems. Therefore if you think you may have a case you should seek specialist legal advice straight away. Public Law Project Information Leaflet 2 © Public Law Project 2006 2 3. Can I bring a court case? Claims for compensation for loss or damage caused by the decisions of public bodies are not normally public law matters. You will only be able to bring a claim for compensation in limited circumstances, for example if you can prove negligence by a doctor or social worker. This leaflet does not deal with this sort of claim. If you think you may have a claim for negligence you should seek advice from a solicitor. However, if your main concern is about the way a public body has reached a decision or acted, then you may be able to pursue a public law remedy through the courts called ‘judicial review’. A judicial review claim must be brought as soon as possible and within three months of the decision you want to challenge. In exceptional circumstances this time limit can be extended, but you cannot rely on this. Get advice quickly if you think you may have a claim. 4. How will the case be paid for? Public funding is available for judicial review actions to those people who satisfy the criteria. The funding is now called ‘Community Legal Service Funding’. It used to be known as ‘legal aid’. There is a two-part test to determine if you qualify: a test of the merits of your case, and a test of your means. If you receive Income Support, income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance, or Guarantee State Pension Credit you will automatically satisfy the means test. Only solicitors who have a contract with the Legal Services Commission can do publicly funded work. They will be able to advise you further on whether you can get funding to bring a case. Details of these solicitors can be found on the Community Legal Service website at www.clsdirect.org.uk or by calling the Legal Services Commission directory line on 0845 608 1122. If you are not eligible to receive public funding, you may not be able to afford to bring judicial review proceedings (the total cost could be at least £15000). You may also be ordered to pay the other side’s costs (another £10000 or so) if you lose so it can be a big risk even if you can afford your own solicitor’s costs. Ask voluntary organisations and support groups who deal with your kind of problem whether they know of any other source of free legal advice for people in your situation. 5. What is judicial review? Judicial review is a form of court proceeding in which a judge reviews the lawfulness of a decision or action made by a public body. In general terms judicial review may be appropriate where:  the challenge is based on an allegation that the public body has taken an unlawful decision or action, and  there is no adequate alternative remedy. Public Law Project Information Leaflet 2 © Public Law Project 2006 3 Alternative remedies have been mentioned above: for example, appeals to a tribunal in social security cases, complaints procedures and so on. They are explained in more detail in other leaflets available from our website. If none of these is appropriate in your case you may be able to bring a judicial review claim. You will need advice from a solicitor who specialises in this field on whether or not you have grounds to bring a claim. Judicial review does not involve the court in deciding whether the public body has made the ‘right’ or ‘correct’ decision, but whether the correct legal basis has been used in reaching it. The factors which can make a decision unlawful are discussed in other leaflets available from the website. A more detailed explanation is in the booklet “Is it lawful?” which is also available as a free download from our website. 6. How does judicial review work? Here is an outline of the procedure only. There is more detail in the fourth leaflet in this series. You will need specialist advice before bringing a case. 1. The Claimant (who must be a person who has been affected by the decision being challenged) sends a letter (called a Letter Before Claim) to the Defendant (the public body that made the decision). The letter must set out details of the decision, the reason why the Claimant thinks it is unlawful, what the Claimant wants the Defendant to do about it and when the Defendant must reply. It must state that judicial review proceedings will be issued if a satisfactory response is not received within the time limit. 2. At this stage the Defendant may respond and the parties may be able to negotiate. If a settlement is offered it is important to obtain legal advice before accepting it in order to make sure that it is made on fair terms. 3. If there is no response to the letter, or the response is unsatisfactory, the Claimant can make an application to the Court for permission to bring the judicial review proceedings and must serve it on the Defendant. A special form must be used and there is a £50 court fee. 4. If the claimant needs an urgent solution and has asked for one in the application form (for example, to prevent deportation or homelessness) the judge may make a temporary order requiring the Defendant to do something (such as house the claimant) or preventing the Defendant from doing something (such as deporting the claimant) until the Judge can consider the case fully. 5. The Defendant then normally tells the Court briefly why it thinks that the decision was not unlawful in an ‘Acknowledgment of Service’. 6. A Judge will consider the application for permission and will usually decide just by looking at the papers whether permission should be granted or not. 7. If permission is refused the Claimant can request that the decision be reconsidered at an oral hearing. Such a request must be made within 7 days after notification of the refusal has been received. Public Law Project Information Leaflet 2 © Public Law Project 2006 4 8. If permission is refused again, the Claimant can appeal to the Court of Appeal, which must be done within 7 days. However, the permission of the Court of Appeal is required before any such appeal can be heard, and so specialist legal advice must be sought immediately. 9. If permission is granted to proceed with the judicial review, the parties may attempt to negotiate again and may be able to agree a settlement. 10. The Claimant must lodge a further fee of £180.00 within 7 days of service of the judge’s decision. If this is not done, the file may be closed. 11. If the parties cannot agree a settlement, the Defendant must file and serve, within 35 days of service of the order granting permission, its detailed grounds for contesting the claim and any written evidence such as witness statements it wants to rely on. 12. In due course a hearing will take place when a Judge will consider the matter fully. This can be several months from when the claim was first issued. It is usual for both parties to be represented by barristers. The hearing can last from a couple of hours to several days depending on the complexity of the case. There is usually no oral evidence. 13. Usually the court gives a fully reasoned decision some weeks after the hearing, but this will be done more quickly in urgent cases. 14. Either party can appeal against the Court's decision to the Court of Appeal. All cases require permission to appeal, and if the application for permission is not made at the conclusion of the case, the application for permission to appeal must be made to the Court of Appeal Civil Division within 14 days. 7. What can the court do? If an application for judicial review is successful, the court has available to it six possible remedies:  Quashing Orders – the original decision is struck down and the public body has to take the decision again (lawfully, this time)  Prohibiting Orders – the public body is forbidden from doing something unlawful in the future  Mandatory Orders – the public body is ordered to do something specific which it has a duty to do A declaration – for example, on the way to interpret the law in future, or a declaration that a legislative provision is incompatible with the Human Rights Act  An injunction – this is usually a temporary remedy until the full application for judicial review is heard  Damages – this is rare, but may be available in some cases, particularly where there has been a breach of an individual’s rights under the Human Rights Act. Public Law Project Information Leaflet 2 © Public Law Project 2006 5 " ^[9]

[edit] Courts and Criminal Law

[edit] Punishment

Capital punishment has been abolished in Ireland and the last execution was in 1954. It was abolished by law in 1990 by the Criminal Justice Act. It was made unconsitutional in 2002. According to the Constitution the death penaltly can no be reinstated in any type of state of emergency or war. Ireland has the lowest imprisionment rate with 3417 prisioners. A European Union survey of crime confirmed that Ireland's crime rate is one of the highest in the EU with almost one in four people saying they have been a victim of crime. ^[10] According to the Irish Penal Reform Trust the prisions in Ireland are using inhumain and degrading treatment to its prisioners. This is because of the severe overcrowding of the prisons. The report also states that the prision guards are fair but are working under impossible odds due to over crowding. In Ireland everyone is treated equally and religion nor race plays a role in severity of punishment. I could not find the answers to the punishments used for rape or murder, any information on white collar crime, or fines and compinsation.

[edit] Legal Personnel

[edit] Law Enforcement

The national law enforcement agency in Ireland is the An Garda Siochana. There are two components to the An Garda Siochana. You can be either a full time officer or a reservist. If you wish to be a reservist it is completly voluntarily and not paid. To be selected as a reservist you must apply then fulfill the training requirements. The training is mainly done at night or on the weekend. Training is completed in five phases. Phase one is two days and is an introduction to the Garda College where you will study human rights, eithics, discipline, and orgainismal culture. Phase two has a fifty six hour minimum and is done in three hour incriments. You will learn road traffic acts, arrestable offenses, assaults, public order, Garda powers, and taking crime reports. Phase three lasts two days. You will learn self defense, radio procedures, and handcuffing techniques. Phase four consists of fourty hours of training and is stictly on the job training that can be done at any local branch of the Garda. Finally phase five is a one day graduation ceremony. Once all five phases are complete you have earned the title Garda Reservist. To apply to be a full time officer you must be between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five and be able to pass three tests verbal evaluation, job scituation simulation, and analytical reasoning. Then pass a written communication excersise and and interview. Finally you must pass a medical examination and a physical fitness test. "Basic training is divided into 5 phases and lasts 2 years. Initially, students spend 22 weeks at the Garda College in Templemore followed by a period of 24 weeks spent at selected stations under the direct supervision of tutorial staff. After further training at the College, students become members of the Service and are attached to stations. While they are now empowered to enforce legislation, they remain under probation for a further 2 year period."^[11]

According to http://www.worldaudit.org/corruption.htm Ireland ranks fourteenth in the world on a corruption scale.

From the readings and what I understand the An Garda Siochana is very respected by the population. They are so respected because of their "hard nosed" reputation.

The An Garda Siochana is the only civilan police force in Ireland. They also have a Poilini Airm which is the military police branch of the Irish Army. The two forces do not usually work together but can if there is a national disaster such as the equivelent of a September 11, 2001.

According to Riechel Ireland is a Centralized Single System. Which means that there is one police force across the country. This also means that there is one set of laws though the country. The hierchary of power in these types of police forces are, Inpsectore General of Police, two Deputy Inspector Generals, One regional commander for each region, a division commander for each region, and district commanders, all other patrols fall under this such as sergants detectives...etc.

Crime Rates and Public Opinioages=== In Inreland there are many different levels of courts. There is the Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeal, Court of Martial Appeal, High Court, Central Crminal Court, Special Crminal Court, Circuit Court, District Court, and the Children's Court. "The Supreme Court is the final of final appeal in Ireland"^[12]. If you are a Supremem Court judge you can practice until you are either seventy or seventy-two depending on when you were appointed. If you were appointed before 1995 you practice until you are seventy-two but after 1995 you practice until you are seventy. The Courts Act of 1997 limited the Chief Justice's seat to a seven year tender. "The Constitution provides that justice shall be administered in public save in such special and limited cases as may be prescribed by law. Supreme Court sittings in the vast majority of cases are therefore open to the public. The main exceptions are Family Law and Succession Act cases."^[13] The courts of Crminal Appeal is made up of a Judge Supreme and two Judges of the High Court. Appeals can only be made on sentenceing, conviction or both. The appeals heard in this court are from the Central Court or Circuit Court. The appealet must obtain a certificate from that judge saying the case is fit for an appeal. The Martial Appeal Court hears appeals by persons convicted by court-martial. The appeal is determined on a record of the proceedings at the court-martial with power to hear new or additional evidence or to refer any matter for report to the president or the judge advocate of the court-martial. If the appeal is against the finding and the sentence, the court may affirm or reverse the finding in whole or in part, or order a new trial or vary the sentence. If the appeal is limited to either finding or sentence, the court is confined to dealing with the matter which is the subject of the appeal. The court also has power to review a finding or sentence (which was the subject of a previous appeal) where new evidence shows that there has been a miscarriage of justice. The decision of the Courts-Martial Appeal Court is final unless the court or the Attorney General certifies that the decision involves a point of law of exceptional public importance and that it is desirable in the public interest that an appeal be taken to the Supreme Court. ^[14]. The High Court hears all matter criminal, civil, or on any law. It can also be used as a supreme court to any district court. The High Court sits in Dublin to hear original actions. It also hears personal injury and fatal injury actions in several provincial locations, (Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford, Sligo, Dundalk, Kilkenny and Ennis), at specified times during the year. In addition, the High Court sits in provincial venues to hear appeals from the Circuit Court in civil and family law matters. ^[15]. There are thirty seven judges in the high court. The Central Criminal Court hears only murder and rape trials outside the juristriction of the Circuit Court.. This court is directed by the President of the High Court as to when and where to listen to a case. A normal hearing is made up of one judge and a jury of tweleve. The Offences Against the State Act 1939 provides for the establishment of Special Criminal Courts. This court sits with three judges and no jury. The rules of evidence that apply in proceedings before the Special Criminal Court are the same as those applicable to trials in the Central Criminal Court. The Special Criminal Court is authorised by the 1939 Act to make rules governing its own practice and procedure. The Act also provides that the Government shall appoint serving judges to sit in the Special Criminal Court. There is a panel of 11 judges appointed to the court who are drawn from the High, Circuit and District Courts. An appeal against conviction or sentence by a Special Criminal Court may be taken to the Court of Criminal Appeal.^[16] The Circuit Court of Ireland is divided into four main areas civil, crminal, family law, and jury service. Each case can take from two days to two weeks. Anything civil can be heard as long as it does not exceed 38,920.14 Euros and land does not exceed a worth of 252.95 Euros. The Circuit court and High Court have concurrent jurisdtiion in the family matters. The circuit court hears family matters such as divorce, nullity, and appeals from the District Courts. The circuit court hears all crminal cases except murder and rape. The District court of Ireland is similar to the state courts in the United States. All matters are heard there unless required to be heard in a higher court for any reason. There are sixty three judges in twenty four districts. The District Courts hears some matters of civil cases, crminial cases, family cases to include childcare, maintnance, guardianship and domestic violence.

Rates of Key Crimes in

Lie	Theft	Breach of Contract	Assualt	Cheat

Hover here

There are many of the same crimes committed in Ireland as there are in America. The most serious crime committed in Ireland according to http://www.nationmaster.com/red/country/ei-ireland/cri-crime&all=1 was burglary. There were 23,042 reported burglaries in Ireland in 2002. The next most reported crime is car thefts at 14,851. Third is assaults with 9,921 assaults reported in Ireland in 2002. Those are the three most reported crimes in 2002 in Ireland. There were only 38 murders in Ireland in 2002 ten of wich were committed by youths and 12 of which were with a firearm. Only 218 rapes were reported and 2,414 robberies reported in 2002. Suicide to me seems very low. For the ages of 15-24 there were only 8.8 suicides per 100,000 people, ages 25-34 only 14 per 100,000, and above teh age of 75 only 6.5 per 100,000. Drug crimes are also very low with only 190.2 per 100,000 people. This is low to me considering that heroine and cocaine gets shipped through Ireland. In the whole country of Ireland there are only 14 prisions and 81,274 total reported crimes in the year of 2002.

In an article I read found here(http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/?jp=MHAUOJKFIDOJ) it does not exactly say the people of Irelands opinion of crime, but I can infer that they are not unhappy about the crime rates. I draw this conclusion because the article states that it took a survey of 1,000 people on how the Irish government should handle criminals. These are the results: 91% of respondents believe offenders with mental illness should be treated in a mental health facility instead of being sent to prison.

81% believe offenders with a drug addiction should be placed in drug recovery programmes instead of serving a prison sentence.

74% are in favour of using alternatives to prison when dealing with young offenders.

66% of respondents believe that people come out of prison worse than they go in.

54% disagree with the statement that ’increasing prison numbers will reduce crime’.

44% agree criminalising drug use causes more problems than it prevents. Only 28% disagreed.

Because of this survey I drew the conclusion that the people of Ireland do not want any harsher punishments and in turn are happy with the over all criminal activity / inactivity.

The two families I think that Ireland falls under is civil and common law. I think this because both famlies of law are rational and universal. Also because they were both founded in contenial Europe and its colonies. Both famlies are both modern western. And they are both enforced in the same way. Those are the reasons that I think Ireland falls under the civil and common law famlies.

[edit] Rights

[edit] Family Law

"In Ireland in order to divorce a couple must be living apart for at least four out of the past five years. The division of all property is to be divided fairly and equally, but the first priority is the care of a child. The child support or child maintnance is paid if the parent with custody can not afford to provide for the his/herselft and the child for any reason. A child can recieve such maintance until he or she is eighteen or until twenty three if in college. Many times in the case of child custody there is a third party to decide with whom the child will reside because many times the child does not want to choose one parent over another." ^[17]

[edit] Social Inequality

[edit] Human Rights

"There are many fundamental rights protected by the Constituiton of Ireland. Some of these rights include but are not limited to equality, personal rights (protection of life, good name, property rights, and person), prohibition of abortion, freedom of speech, assembly, home life, and home life. The Constitution also guarantees the right to education, freedom of worship, and private property." ^[18] In Ireland equality is as it is here in America in the sence that everyone is treated the same without discresion to age, race, sex, etc.

[edit] Works Cited

1. ↑ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ei.html
2. ↑ http://www.geographyiq.com/countries/ei/Ireland_government.htm
3. ↑ http://www.geographyiq.com/countries/ei/Ireland_government.htm
4. ↑ http://www.geographyiq.com/countries/ei/Ireland_government.htm
5. ↑ http://www.geographyiq.com/countries/ei/Ireland_government.htm
6. ↑ http://www.geographyiq.com/countries/ei/Ireland_government.htm
7. ↑ http://www.geographyiq.com/countries/ei/Ireland_government_summary.htm
8. ↑ http://www.geographyiq.com/countries/ei/Ireland_government.htm
9. ↑ http://www.publiclawproject.org.uk/downloads/WhatIsJR.pdf
10. ↑ http://www.unicri.it/wwd/analysis/icvs/pdf_files/EUICS%20-%20The%20Burden%20of%20Crime%20in%20the%20EU.pdf
11. ↑ http://www.garda.ie/Controller.aspx?Page=336&Lang=1&PersistList=1&PersistPage=213
12. ↑ http://www.courts.ie/courts.ie/library3.nsf/WebPageCurrentWeb/2D2779D5D7A9FEAB80256D8700504F7B?OpenDocument&l=en
13. ↑ http://www.courts.ie/courts.ie/library3.nsf/pagecurrent/2D2779D5D7A9FEAB80256D8700504F7B?opendocument&l=en.
14. ↑ http://www.courts.ie/courts.ie/library3.nsf/pagecurrent/B3C3079E06F79EA280256D8700504FCD?opendocument&l=en
15. ↑ http://www.courts.ie/courts.ie/Library3.nsf/pagecurrent/A02C9A68910CAE7280256D870050500C?opendocument&l=en
16. ↑ http://www.courts.ie/courts.ie/Library3.nsf/pagecurrent/41C06A30E5FEDA7B80256D870050508C?opendocument&l=en
17. ↑ http://www.familylaw.ie/family_law.htm
18. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Ireland#Under_.27Fundamental_Rights.27_title