15 July 2022 ICCL and 22 other national organisations have today issued an open letter to the government and party leaders in the Oireachtas sounding the alarm that the ongoing abuse of parliamentary processes cannot continue. The letter expresses dissatisfaction with …
6 June 2022 ICCL has just submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Committee, which will be examining civil and political rights in Ireland from 4-7 July 2022. We find gaps under the Right to Life, Freedom from Torture …
29 April 2022 The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has today warmly welcomed the publication of the general scheme of the Charities (Amendment) Bill (2022) and the plans to grant human rights organisations charitable status for the first time. If passed, …
ICCL and our Northern Ireland sister organisation, the Committee on the Administration of Justice, held a conference to mark 20 years of the Good Friday Agreement. ICCL’s Head of Legal and Policy Doireann Ansbro spoke on the pressing need to …
30 March 2022 The government has knowingly missed an opportunity to fix an anomaly in Irish law which means community groups or volunteer organisations could be prosecuted for normal fundraising work. Speaking following the publication of the Electoral Reform Bill, …
15 February 2022 A new European report finds that persistent failure to address systemic human rights issues such as the legacy of Mother and Baby Homes and the continuance of Direct Provision is impacting the rule of law in Ireland. …
6 April 2021 ICCL, leading the Coalition for Civil Society Freedom, made a submission to the Department of Housing calling for the removal of the definition of “political purposes” from the Electoral Act 2001. This is because the current definition …
March 2021 ICCL made a submission to the Department of Housing on the Electoral Reform Bill. We welcome the move to establish an Electoral Commission. With regard to the issue of Political Advertising, ICCL believes that the State must vigorously …
8 April 2021 A coalition of human rights organisations led by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has submitted a wide-ranging and critical report to the UN Human Rights Council. The organisations are particularly critical of the lack of …
16 March 2021 Protests planned for St Patrick’s Day have highlighted yet again the need for guidelines for people who want to protest in a peaceful and pandemic-safe manner, says the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL). The anti-lockdown protests …
4 March 2021 Following the eruption of violence at a far-right protest in Dublin the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has said that guidelines for protesting safely during lockdown are now urgently needed. In a letter to the Minister …
Two prominent UN human rights experts, including Irishwoman Mary Lawlor – Special Rapporteur for Human Rights Defenders – have criticised Ireland regarding its ban on fundraising for civil society. Ms Lawlor and Clément Voule, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of …
17 December 2020 The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has broadly welcomed a Department of Justice report signalling its intention to draft legislation against crimes motivated by hate and prejudice. ICCL has been calling for such legislation for some …
01 July 2020 A coalition of NGOs has written to a UN human rights expert expressing concern that overly stringent restrictions on funding mean Irish campaigners are hampered in their work. The NGOs say that in the past three years …
15 June 2020 The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has welcomed significant advances for human rights in the (draft) programme for government published today. We especially welcome the commitments to end Direct Provision and bring in a law to …
23 April 2020 The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has said that the government should review the decision to exclude protest from the list of reasonable excuses to leave home during the pandemic. The call comes as discrepancies arose …
12 February 2020 The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has said that Ireland may be falling short of its obligations under human rights law to protect people from the most extreme forms of hate speech. In a submission to …
DATE Private & Confidential Address Re: Incident date time and location Dear X, We refer to the above. On DATE OF INCIDENT whilst present at PLACE OF INCIDENT (my mobile phone was seized by members of An Garda Síochana). (We …
25 January 2020 The Irish Council for Civil Liberties today launched the 8th installment in its Know Your Rights series, a guide for protesters. Doireann Ansbro, ICCL’s Senior Research and Policy Officer, compiled the guide with input from protesters, law …
18 January 2020 The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has warmly welcomed the commencement of the Blasphemy (Abolition) Act 2019. Director Liam Herrick said: “This is a wonderful leap forward for human rights in this country. ICCL has been a …
