12 November 2020 The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) is again calling on An Garda Síochána to immediately end the use of spit hoods. The Northern Ireland Policing Board has today released a report calling for an end to …
ICCL opposes attempt to steamroll emergency legislation through Dáil
20 October 2020 The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has written to all TDs to urge them to oppose the extension of the Emergency Health Legislation without substantial review and debate on Thursday of this week. The legislation, fast …
New investigation shows gardaí can violate our rights with no repercussions
15 October 2020 The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) today publishes an investigation in which experienced solicitors and barristers speak of their concern that new rules on evidence give Gardaí a green light to breach rights with no consequences. …
ICCL on Dying with Dignity Bill: broad programme of reform necessary
6 October 2020 The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) fully supports everyone’s right to dignity and autonomy, including the right to make our own decisions over how we live our lives and how we might ultimately want to end …
Where Everyone is Safe: ICCL launches new anti-torture campaign
1 October 2020 This Friday, 2 October 2020, marks 13 years since Ireland signed but did not ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture (OPCAT). That is 13 years where Ireland has promised to prevent torture and …
Open call: Consultant to write Know Your Rights guide for international protection applicants
Please submit applications to info@iccl.ie with subject line ‘Consultancy KYR Rights of International Protection Applicants’ by 5:30pm, 5 October 2020. ICCL and the Irish Refugee Council are seeking a paid consultant to draft a clear and accessible Know Your Rights …
Two years of DPC inaction on the ongoing RTB data breach: Irish people with AIDS profiled, and Polish elections influenced.
Irish Data Protection Commission inaction on the RTB privacy crisis means Irish people with AIDS were profiled, Polish elections were influenced, and the biggest data breach in history continues.
ICCL calls on government not to reintroduce garda powers
18 August 2020 ICCL does not support the reintroduction of expanded powers of enforcement for An Garda Síochána or the use of criminal penalties. We reiterate our position that public health advice should be consent and education-based. It should not …
ICCL questions gardaí over allegedly illegal eviction
13 August 2020 The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has written to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to request information about the presence of gardaí and the Public Order Unit at an allegedly illegal private eviction yesterday. The eviction occurred …
ICCL releases 2019 Annual Report
26 July 2020 The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has today published a report on our work and finances in 2019. ICCL specifically focused on grassroots activism during 2019, conducting a National Consultation with protesters, as well as supporting …
Irish Civil Society Brings Funding Law to UN
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 …
Untenable in a democracy: ICCL renews call for abolition of Special Criminal Court
23 June 2020 The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), ahead of the mooted renewal of the Offences Against the State Act next week and the Dáil debate tomorrow, renews our call for repeal of the Act and with it …
ICCL welcomes decriminalisation of restriction on movement and return to policing by consent
8 June 2020 The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has welcomed the decriminalisation of the restrictions on personal liberties in the new regulations that came into force today. ICCL has been calling for the separation of health advice from …
Garda COVID powers are unworkable and must be ended
4 June 2020 The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), in advance of an expected government announcement on moving into phase two of reopening the country, has said that emergency garda powers are now inappropriate, unworkable, and must be ended. …
Data protection experts publish human rights principles for contact-tracing app
3 June 2020 The Irish Council for Civil Liberties, together with Digital Rights Ireland, academics, and data protection experts, have today published a principled framework for the development of a contact-tracing app to curb the spread of COVID-19. The document …
ICCL writes to Covid committee ahead of travel regulations discussion
29 May 2020 Dear Ms Fallon,Many thanks for your letter. We are conscious that the Committee is considering matters concerning Travel Restrictions on Tuesday 2 June, therefore I attach herewith two documents, which I would be grateful if you might …
ICCL writes to Oireachtas Covid19 Committee
18 May 2020 Dear Members of the Special Committee,Further to our email to the Committee on 10 May, ICCL had strongly urged the Minister for Health to carry out a human rights impact assessment ahead of any new or extended …
ICCL writes to Oireachtas Commitee on COVID-19
10 May 2020 (via email) Dear Deputy, On behalf of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), I would like to congratulate you on your appointment to the Special Committee on Covid-19 Response. We welcome the establishment of this Committee …
Call to include physically distant protest as a reasonable excuse to leave home
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 …
Organisations call for Human Rights Impact Assessment to inform state review of COVID19 response
23 April 2020 A number of organisations representing or concerned with communities who have been particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic have written to the Taoiseach appealing for a human rights impact assessment to be carried out by 5 May. …