Monitoring – Redress for survivors of the Magdalene Laundries.

Marcella represented victims who had suffered abuse in Residential Institutions when a redress scheme was set up by the government in 2002. That was a scheme which was run by the Residential Institutions Redress Board to make awards to persons who, as children, were abused while resident in industrial schools, reformatories and other institutions subject to state regulation and or inspection.

The government is considering should such a scheme be set up for survivors of the Magdalene Laundries. If you are a survivor of the Magdalene Laundries contact Marcella for further advice.

Marcella has the experience of advising clients in a compassionate, sensitive and confidential way and endeavours to obtain compensation for the victims who suffered such terrible and upsetting abuse.

Sheehy Manton Solicitors are actively monitoring the claims of Sexual Abuse Allegations in Scouting Ireland.

There are at least 108 victims of sexual abuse in a time span ranging from the 1960’s to the 1980's involving a number of alleged abusers. It is anticipated that this number of victims will rise.

If you have been affected by this issue, you may be entitled to compensation* for any injury, loss or damage suffered by you. We can advise you in complete confidence. Contact (052) 6131897.

*In contentious business, a Solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement

Personal Injuries Assessment Board (Amendment) Act 2019.
This act commenced on 3rd April 2019. A "highlights" of this act to note is :

Section 51C which provides that the Court may penalise claimants and respondents as to costs where they have not complied with a request made by the PIAB assessors for additional information or documents; to provide assistance to experts retained by the PIAB or furnish information or documents or co-operate with those experts; or for the claimant to submit himself or herself to a medical examination

A medical report is not now necessary with the application to the Injuries Board to stop the clock from running for the Statute of Limitations; submitting form A which is your application form will suffice and PIAB will serve a preliminary notice on the respondent. It should be noted however that it will not serve the formal section 13 notice and commence the 90 day period until a medical report is received.

The Domestic Violence Act 2018 came into effect on the 1st January 2019.

The Act will have a considerable impact on family and criminal law as it introduces a new type of Order (Emergency Barring Order), reconfigures who can apply for Protection Orders, Safety Orders, Interim Barring Orders and Barring Orders.

The Act directs the Court as to what must be taken into consideration in those applications, deals with the issue of personal cross-examination, applicants being accompanied to court, effectively imposes the in-camera rule in respect of prosecutions for breaches of the above Orders.

It introduces a new offence into Irish law coercive control. This is a progressive part of the legislation, as it is the first recognition in Irish criminal law of the damage caused to a victim by psychological abuse.

Coercive control is defined as "knowingly and persistently controlling" a spouse, civil partner or intimate partner, so that it has a serious affect on the victim, and a reasonable person would expect the behaviour to have a serious affect on the victim. A serious affect is defined as giving rise to a fear of violence or serious alarm or distress so as to impact the victim's pursuit of their daily activities.

The 2018 Act for the first time, allows unmarried victims without the required property interest to seek an Emergency Barring Order. This is an order which requires the perpetrator to leave the family home for a maximum of eight days, even if they are unmarried and the sole owner or lease-holder of the property. It is granted where there is an immediate risk of serious harm to the applicant or their dependants.

The above is intended for information purposes only, and is not intended to be relied upon as legal advice. Please contact us for advice specific to your needs.