Concerns have been flagged about emergency legislation set to be implemented to tackle Coronavirus.

Minister for Social Protection Regina Doherty has said she hopes that the government will not need to enact powers to monitor mass gatherings or treat those affected by the virus, but who refuse to self-isolate.

Liam Herrick lists eight stumbling blocks to ensuring human rights and equal treatment can become a reality here and how they can be easily fixed

A languages teacher in rural Ireland broke her ankle but was denied welfare benefit by the Department of Social Protection because she refused to get a public services card (PSC).

The Taoiseach has been accused of making "disingenuous" and factually incorrect statements about the Direct Provision system for asylum seekers.

The Data Protection Commissioner is set to respond by the end of this week to the Department of Social Protection over its decision to challenge the commissioner’s rulings on the Public Services Card.

The Data Protection Commissioner is set to respond by the end of this week to the Department of Social Protection over its decision to challenge the Commissioner’s rulings on the Public Services Card.

Minister for Social Protection Regina Doherty has said that based on their own legal advice, her department does not accept the findings of the Data Protection Commissioner in relation to the Public Services Card.

The Government’s decision to challenge the Data Protection Commissioner’s highly adversarial rulings on the Public Services Card has been condemned as “ludicrous” and “incredibly bizarre”.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) is “deeply concerned” that the public service card (PSC) may be illegal and that it also impacts on those living in poverty.

The Divorce Referendum is expected to ease into a yes vote with the exit poll showing support of 87%.

The threat of censorship that hangs over artists and writers must be removed once and for all, according to civil rights activists.

Open letter to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Charlie Flanagan, Minister for Justice and Equality:

Thousands of testimonies relating to child abuse in institutions and related records should be redacted and anonymised, instead of being sealed for 75 years.

The Government has been accused of backing down “in the face of racist arson attacks” by shelving plans for a direct provision centre in Rooskey in Leitrim.

The Government’s planned legislation to allow people separated from their families through adoption to have access to their own records and histories has been slammed as “unfit for purpose” by a civil liberties group.

The Taoiseach has faced harsh criticism for performing a U-turn in inviting US President Donald Trump to Ireland.

Around 3m people who have been issued Personal Services Cards (PSC) could be entitled to claim compensation from the State, a legal expert has claimed.

Human rights officers should be appointed to every area of policing as part of a comprehensive framework to address persistent problems in An Garda Síochána.

Former Supreme Court Judge and first President of the Irish Human Rights Commission, Donal Barrington, has died.

We need to stop focusing on quick-fix solutions but instead work on reframing Irish policing to ground it in the principles of human rights, writes Liam Herrick. 

We are entering a critical phase in the Brexit process. At this juncture, it is essential that the Government stands steadfast in its commitment to the protection of human rights across the whole island.

The Government has been urged to be more transparent about plans for the controversial Public Service Card.

Civil rights campaigners say they are seeking clarity around the mandatory use of the public services card as the Government confirmed it will be required to secure passports in future.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties says it will be stressing the importance of inspections and reporting when it addresses the UN Committee Against Torture in Geneva today.

Civil rights advocates said the headscarf ban ruling by the European Court of Justice did not appear to “place weight on the importance of freedom of religion”.

US Vice President Joe Biden said he was emotional and moved by his visit to Aras an Uachtarain this morning, writes Jack Power of the Irish Examiner.

The new chief adviser to President Michael D Higgins is to have a salary just below the Government wage cap following the abrupt departure of his better paid predecessor.

Cork Prison is being hit by a “perfect storm” of high committal numbers, crumbling facilities, serious overcrowding, and poor mental health services.

The Inspector of Prisons has called the overcrowding crisis at the Dóchas Centre in Dublin unacceptable.

Six years after a massive crackdown on mobile phones in prisons began, inmates in one jail have been granted permission to have them.

A conference calling for a debate on drug laws yesterday heard that a man faced a three-month prison term for having cannabis worth just €2.

Liam Herrick, executive director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust argues NO while Denis Naughten, an independent TD for Roscommon-South Leitrim, argues YES.

The report of a seven-year inquiry into the savage death of a prisoner, which has been dogged by delays and obstacles, will be sent to Justice Minister Alan Shatter by the end of the year.

Prisoner numbers have dropped below 4,000 for the first time in four years, new figures show. There were 3,983 people in custody yesterday and 645 on temporary release (TR).

Prisoners subjected to 22 and 23 hour lock-up are at greater risk of mental health, campaigners have said.

A second garda killer who “callously” murdered an unarmed sergeant as he lay injured on the ground will be released early following a landmark Supreme Court ruling.

Concerns are being raised as to how the educational and childcare requirements of young offenders being transferred from St Patrick’s Institution to Wheatfield Prison are going to be met.

A “rigid, inflexible culture” and the persistent behaviour of a “small cohort” of prison officers has forced the authorities to scrap St Patrick’s Institution, the head of the Irish Prison Service has said.