NEW CIVIL PARTNERSHIP RIGHTS

The Civil Partnership Bill continues to be passed through the Dáil and should be made law within the next few months. The Bill will put in place rights, obligations and protections for same-sex couples who register as civil partners, in line with Law Reform Commission recommendations.

Once enacted it will establish a statutory civil partnership registration scheme for same-sex couples, together with a range of provisions to deal with such partnerships, including how they may be dissolved, etc.

It will also establish a redress scheme for opposite-sex and same-sex cohabiting couples who are not married or registered in a civil partnership. The redress scheme may be activated at the end of a relationship, whether by break-up or death, and allows a financially dependent cohabitant to apply to court for certain remedies, including maintenance, property or pension adjustment orders, or provision from the estate of a deceased cohabitant. The Bill also allows for cohabitant agreements that deal with financial affairs of cohabiting couples and allows couples to opt out of having the redress scheme applied to them.

It is likely that once enacted a great number of such couples will seek advise from practitioners on all the various legal and taxation matters involved.

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BANNING OF SUNBEDS FOR UNDER 18s

The Minister for Health and Children has recently announced new legislation to ban use of sunbeds, and sale or hire of sunbeds to anyone under 18. 

The nurses and midwives Bill 2010 is being moved through the Oireachtas by the Health Minister to provide advanced regulation and registration processes for nurses and midwives and advanced nursing and midwifery practitioners. It will provide all the usual complaints and fitness to practice regulations that other medical practitioners face.

It also specifically provides that unregistered nurses and midwives may not practice nursing or midwifery or advertise that they practice that profession. It also protects the title of advanced nurse practitioner, advanced midwife practitioner, nurse practitioner and midwife practitioner. It prohibits a person from attending a woman in childbirth for payment, unless the person is a midwife with adequate indemnity insurance, a registered medical practitioner or a person undergoing training to be a medical practitioner, training as a midwife or undergoing training in obstetrics.

MONEY LAUNDERING AND TERRORIST FINANCING BILL

The Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Bill 2009 is currently being passed through the final stages in the Oireachtas and will shortly come into law. It will bring significant changes to existing legislation in line with EU Directives, including changes to definition of “criminal conduct” and widening the law to offences outside the State. When enacted it will also:-

• Give Gardai and the District Court powers to prohibit any person for periods between 7 and 21 days carrying out  a service or transaction that may be shown to assist money laundering or terrorist financing (e.g. a bank transfer or property transaction).
• Clarify the definition of “designated person” to include an auditor, external accountant or tax adviser, a relevant independent legal professional, a trust or company service provider, a property service provider, a person who directs a private members club at which gambling activities are carried out (casino), a person trading in goods in respect of transactions involving the receipt of cash of at least €15,000 and others.
• Provide for how trust and company service provider are to be authorised.
• Force directors of Private Members Clubs (unlicensed casinos) to register with the Minister for Justice. Failure to register will be an offence.
• Set out the meaning of “beneficial owner” to also include anyone with a 25% controlling interest in a partnership or trust, or an Executor of a deceased’s estate.
• Provide for Customer Due Diligence and allows for a simplified system in low risk situations.

Designated persons will require as soon as the Act is passed to significantly revise how conduct assessment for money laundering in their respective businesses. Private members club directors and those running trust and company service provider business will need to put in place risk assessment processes on new and existing customers.

LAW SOCIETY LAUNCHES INFO WEBSITE

The Law Society launched a new website, www.lawinfo.ie , for consumers on 1 June 2010. The site has been created to provide consumers with information and useful links on different areas of law and the legal system. It also includes a link to the Society’s very useful Find a Firm service. For details see www.lawinfo.ie