Many unsuitable people will be appointed judges if the Government pushes through controversial legislation, the Dáil has heard.

The Government plans to drive through legislation for the new judicial appointments system and does not expect to make any amendments despite calls for changes from top judges and opposition parties.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has warned two of Ireland’s most senior judges that they must respect the independence of Government to perform its duties, insisting separation of powers between the groups works both ways.

The country’s top judge, Chief Justice Susan Denham, has hit out at the failure of the Government to establish a judicial council, which she said is damaging Ireland’s international reputation.

IT may be an over-reaction to say that Chief Justice Susan Denham’s attack on the Government over its failure to establish a judicial council is seismic. 

An appeal against the High Court rejection of a man’s claim that RTÉ and columnist Fiona Looney stole the idea for the reality show Celebrity Bainisteoir has been dismissed by the Supreme Court.

Court office queues are to shorten under plans to allow more legal transactions to be carried out online.

Ireland’s reputation is being damaged due to the continuing delay in setting up a judicial council which, among other things, would set out a code of conduct for judges, according to Chief Justice Susan Denham.

A gang of paedophiles who raped babies, toddlers and pre-school children and streamed the abuse over the internet to other sex abusers have been branded “beyond human instinct and evil” by a judge in the UK.

Economic recovery and a more humane approach to financial debt is being seen in the courts, after six years of recession and personal financial trauma.

The way has been cleared for a woman who suffered institutional abuse to make a late claim for redress following the Supreme Court’s finding in favour of her challenge.

A gang of paedophiles who raped and abused babies, toddlers, and children aged under five in attacks that were streamed over the internet are facing lengthy prison sentences.

A jury in England retired today to consider verdicts against two men accused of conspiracy to rape a child.

A gang of paedophiles raped and abused a baby and a pre-school child in attacks that were live streamed over the internet, a court in the UK heard today.

Temperatures have been so cold in the Supreme Court due to a faulty heating system that the chief justice brought a thermometer to court so she could send the readings to the minister in charge.

Chief Justice Susan Denham has urged Garda chiefs to bring to an end unauthorised leaks to the media by individual officers of matters relating to pending criminal prosecutions.

The planned construction of a criminal courthouse at Anglesea St, Cork, will create up to 170 building jobs.

Judgment has been reserved in a Supreme Court case where a woman, who suffered institutional abuse while in state care as a child, was refused in her application for redress because she was too late.

The country’s top judge has said she was delighted that the Government had earmarked a site for the construction of a dedicated courts complex to deal with family-related cases.

The Chief Justice has welcomed the news that a site for a Family Law Court has been secured.

IN A landmark ruling yesterday the Supreme Court decided 6:1 in favour of the State’s appeal against the decision of the High Court to register as legal mother the genetic mother of twins born to her sister in a surrogacy arrangement.

The genetic mother of twins born to a surrogate has lost a landmark battle to be officially recognised as their mother.

A pensioner who lost a case about his golf handicap faces having to pay a legal bill which could run to €500,000.

The establishment of a new Court of Appeal marks the "most important development" in the structure of the courts since the foundation of the State, the Chief Justice said yesterday.

There has been a 60% drop in prosecutions for drink-driving and a 40% fall in dangerous driving cases since 2006, according to official figures.

The new Civil Court of Appeal, which should be up and running by October, will free up the Supreme Court, writes Kyran Fitzgerald

The top judge in the land yesterday warned the Government that a "great and lasting damage" will be done to the courts if there are any further cuts to their budget.

The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre has said it is hopeful judges and legal professionals will soon take part in education programmes to help them better understand the consequences of sexual crimes.

The director general of the Law Society has joined calls for a major overhaul of judicial appointments to ensure the system is free of political bias.

The chief justice has called for a radical overhauling of the way in which judges are appointed, warning that “political allegiance should have no bearing on appointments.”

A Supreme Court judge has queried why somebody didn’t shout stop and urge mediation before lengthy litigation was embarked on by a teacher over being required to undergo psychiatric assessment to see if she was fit to resume work.

A recidivist burglar who assaulted and threatened to kill a 97-year-old woman in her home has had his six-year jail term increased by four years after a successful appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Judges have been warned to steer clear of the referendum campaign surrounding the proposed setting-up of a new Court of Appeal.

Limerick gangland figure Ger Dundon has failed in appeal against his five-year sentence for violent disorder.

The country’s most senior judge has urged businesses to put ethics back in their boardrooms as the courts start seeing the fallout from the economic collapse.

The number of people jailed for non-payments of fines has soared by 82%, it has been revealed.

The Supreme Court is to get two extra judges as it seeks to manage one of the busiest case loads in the world that has created a four-year backlog.

Multiple sclerosis sufferer Marie Fleming has lost her legal challenge to enable her to end her life with assistance.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter insisted “there isn’t a row” between him and the judiciary and dismissed claims that communications between both sides had broken down as “bizarre”.

An increasingly bitter dispute between judges and the Government has been defused after the Chief Justice Susan Denham secured agreement on a new mediation system.