In Short:The Courts Service and the HSE have agreed to admit participants from all areas of Dublin north of the Liffey into the drug treatment court in order to increase participation in the scheme.
All those receiving treatment from the Castle Street Drug Treatment Centre are also eligible. This centre provides services to people with addresses in Dublin 2, 4, 6 and 8.
Previously only those with addresses in Dublin 1, 3 and 7 could participate in the drug treatment court scheme.
The extension of the catchment area will be piloted for a period of six months, after which an assessment will be conducted as to how the project is proceeding and consider whether or not the capacity exists to extend it to cover participants from the rest of the county of Dublin.
The drug treatment court offers an alternative to prison to offenders who have proven drug addiction. It uses a multi-disciplinary approach to help those before it tackles the cause of their criminal behaviour, drug addiction. The team consists of a judge, probation and welfare officer, an addiction nurse, a Garda liaison officer, an education/ training representative and access to other professionals as needed.
A treatment programme is agreed for each client and is monitored by the court. The client appears before the court so as progress can be measured.
Bar Council election results
The following people have been elected to the Bar Council: Inner Bar panel: Paul O’Higgins SC (chairman), Declan Doyle SC (vice-chairman), David Barniville SC, Dervla Browne SC, Mel Christle SC, Mary Rose Gearty SC, Paul McDermott SC, Shane Murphy SC, David Nolan SC (secretary) and Colm Ó hOisín SC;
Outer Bar panel: Helen Boyle, Sharon Brooks, David Dodd, Fergal Foley, Julie Gillane, Roderick Maguire, Tony McGillicuddy, Gerard Meehan (treasurer), Niall O'Driscoll and Bernard V Rogan.
Law Matters returns on October 3rd
The Law Matters page will not be published in August and September during the courts vacation and will resume on October 3rd, when the courts resume.
While most of the courts are not sitting during August and September, the President of the High Court has arranged for special sittings of the High Court in September to deal with the backlog in asylum judicial reviews, and the District Court sits in September. Further information on the Courts Service website, www.courts.ie