Guide to the Law in The Republic of Ireland

Roddy Tyrrell has provided on his website: 

"Your ultimate guide to the law in Ireland!"

It is a most valuable resource for anyone with an interest in the law . I am very grateful to Mr Tyrrell for his provision of this service. (I note that the free content provided on the website is for informational purposes only. Please refer to the website for more information). I further acknowledge that the only input on my part is some slight changes in Mr Tyrrell's text for the purposes of clarification.  

The information below has been gleaned from the section on::

FAMILY LAW

Chronological Guide to:
Irish Family Law Legislation
and Statutes from 1865 – present

Property (Ireland) Act 1865: permitted a wife to sue her husband in tort if separated or deserted.

Partition Acts 1868 and 1876: allowed courts to divide up property between spouses.

Matrimonial Causes and Marriage Law (Ireland) (Amendment) Act 1870: brought civil nullity rules in line with Church rules.

Married Women’s Property Act 1882: allowed married women to hold property in their own name. Replaced by:

Married Women’s Status Act 1957: made wives liable for their own debts and breaches of duty. Allowed courts to decide property disputes between spouses.

Guardianship of Infants Act 1964: gave parents the right to joint guardianship of their children and allowed courts to make decisions on custody and access. 

• More Family Law Legislation 
• Thanks again to Roddy Tyrrell for all his work in setting up this most valuable resource. 

Pandora's Box

A variety of circumstances can come together so as to change our lives in a nano second. We must be at the ready in order to grasp the opportunity so that it does not elude us. Otherwise the lid of Pandora's Box may close tight before our very eyes. And there shall be "Weeping And Gnashing Of Teeth"

Requesting Access to my records i.e. My Data File

One of the most effective methods of dealing with difficult companies of organisation when their communication skills are not up to scratch is to request your records under the Data Protection Acts. This leaves no misunderstanding or any excuse for putting your query or queries on the long finger. In a manner of speaking using the Data Protections Acts will get organisations to "get the finger out". There is a maximum of a 40 day window for the company/organisation to respond. Thereafter they are in breach of the Acts which can have serious consequences.

Under Section 3 of the Data Protection Acts, you have a right to find out, free of charge, if a person (an individual or an organisation) holds information about you.  You also have a right to be given a description of the information and to be told the purpose(s) for holding your information.

Follow the links below, one of which  contains a letter template with instructions enabling you to access any details the organisation holds about you. 

• Data Protection Rule 8 Right of Access to Personal Data
• Accessing Your Personal Information
• The individual must also pay an access fee if requested. This cannot cannot exceed €6.35. Personally I would advise enclosing a payment for €6.25. This should avoid any excuse for the delaying of your request.

Arm yourself with the knowledge that is available on The Data Protection Acts website and you will get results.