Government appoints Ireland's first ever security watchdog

Mr Justice George Birmingham is to become the country’s first ever oversight judge for Ireland’s security services. File picture: Arthur Ellis

The country’s first ever oversight judge for Ireland’s security services is Mr Justice George Birmingham.

Among a slew of justice appointments by the Cabinet, the designation of the recently retired senior judge as Ireland’s first Independent Examiner of Security Legislation is hailed as a landmark in Ireland’s national security architecture.