Former Chief Justice Frank Clarke to become Law Reform Commission president

The Cabinet has approved the nomination of former Chief Justice Frank Clarke to become the next president of the Law Reform Commission, for a term of five years to be renumerated by a fixed fee of €59,183 a year. Picture: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie

The Cabinet has approved the nomination of former Chief Justice Frank Clarke to become the next president of the Law Reform Commission.

The Taoiseach got Government approval to appoint Judge Clarke for a term of five years to end on July 12, 2027, to be renumerated by a fixed fee of €59,183 a year.

This is to fill the vacancy rate arising from the resignation of Judge Mary Laffoy in January.

It is understood Judge Clarke will receive his pay in addition to his annual pension from his time on the benches.

CervicalCheck tribunal

Also at Cabinet, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said, to date, 20 claims have been lodged with the CervicalCheck tribunal. Claims can continue to be lodged or transferred from the High Court until July 22.

Mr Donnelly got the Government to note the work of the CervicalCheck tribunal to date, and the closing date for receipt of payments by the tribunal is July 26. After that point, the tribunal will continue until all claims received are resolved. 

The tribunal has finalised all the claims received in 2021, demonstrating that it can rapidly and effectively deal with claims to the satisfaction of all parties, a Government spokesman said.

Separate to the tribunal, the ex gratia scheme established to deal with the issues of non-disclosure of audit results has been very successful and has paid 174 applications, with none having been refused, ministers were told.

The Independent Assessment panels for the scheme will remain in place until December for any remaining applicants.

The Government previously approved the drafting of legislation to extend the closing date of the tribunal from July 2021 for up to 12 months further. No further extension is possible under the current legislation, ministers were told.

The minister also told Cabinet that the impending deadline does not impact on the process for restoration of trust meetings, which eligible persons will continue to be able to request.

A judge was asked by the Government to make recommendations about how claims arising from CervicalCheck could be resolved outside of the court process in a sensitive and timely manner.

It was intended that the tribunal would be established by March 2020, but due to the outbreak of Covid, this was delayed until October 27, 2020.

The sole objective of the health minister and the overnment in setting up the tribunal was to provide a more suitable route for women and families to progress their legal actions.