Morning Briefing – Irish Times
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Injury payouts rise, claims fall: The Injuries Resolution Board paid €213m in 2025 (up from €168m in 2024), driven by more awards (10,032 vs 8,598) rather than higher award values. New applications fell 4% year-on-year to 20,077, down 35% on 2019.
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Courts and legal system:
- Rape trials disrupted: Just two of 12 rape cases listed at the Central Criminal Court proceeded amid an escalating solicitors’ fees dispute. Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns warned of widespread delays and risks to justice.
- Legal aid challenge fast-tracked: Parties are seeking an expedited High Court hearing on the new District Court criminal legal aid payment model, which has sparked a solicitor backlash.
- Garda trial: A jury resumes deliberations today in the trial of a 48-year-old garda accused of raping his former wife and child cruelty involving two daughters.
- Anonymity ruling: The High Court ruled a man in his 60s convicted of raping and abusing his younger sisters in the early 1970s cannot be named because he was a minor at the time of the offences.
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Arson sentence: A restaurateur was jailed for nine years for an arson attack on a rival Longford sushi restaurant that caused over €3m in damage, described by the judge as a crime of spite and revenge.
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Policy and governance:
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Mother and baby homes redress: Minister for Children Norma Foley secured Supreme Court leave to appeal a High Court finding that she erred in excluding St Joseph’s Baby Home (Stamullen) and Temple Hill Hospital (Blackrock) from the redress scheme.
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Infrastructure and planning:
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Signal mast dispute: Irish Rail has brought a High Court case to quash Tipperary County Council’s order to remove a signal mast near the protected Gothic revival Cahir railway station, arguing similar masts exist nationwide without issue.
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Northern Ireland:
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Inquiry call: The Truth Recovery Independent Panel recommended that alleged sexual abuse by a nun at a Co Down mother and baby home be investigated as part of the upcoming public inquiry, citing systemic discrimination against women and girls.
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Community:
- Málaga crash funerals: Funeral services for three Mullingar residents who died in a car crash in southern Spain will take place on Thursday and Friday, with two services at the Cathedral of Christ the King on Thursday.