Author: Eoin

Dr Eoin O'Dell is a Fellow and Associate Professor of Law at Trinity College Dublin.

Young Scientists and Visual Identification Evidence

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| Irish Society

I am, alas, neither young nor a scientist, but someone in the family is both, and we spent this evening at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition at the RDS. Running since 1965, the exhibition is an annual competition for encouraging interest in science in Irish schools. This year’s exhibtion appealed hugely to the geek in me, as it always does. Media reports have focussed on the bebo projects featured in the photos, but there was far more to it than that: 500 competitors and whole host of supporting exhibitors, serving up a veritable feast for the eyes and mind.

I particuarly enjoyed a student web-radio station, a plagiarism detection tool, and two visual identification projects. …

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Who Pays the Broadcasting Bill?

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| Media and Communications

The progress of the Broadcasting Bill, 2006 through the Houses of the Oireachtas (the houses of the Irish Parliament) is interesting for all sorts of reasons. It has – appropriately – been a guinea pig for several eGovernment initiatives, including an electronic consultation which drew more than 500 responses, and today’s hearings of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources relating to the Bill are being webcast.

Unsurprisingly, then, there is much media interest in today’s hearings. …

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So, farewell then, Norman French

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| Irish Law

The Taoiseach yesterday launched the Statute Law Revision Bill, 2007 in a speech in the beautiful surroundings of St Werburgh’s Church, Dublin 8, described by the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland as “a wonderful example of an early Georgian auditory church”. It was chosen by the Taoiseach for the announcement because, he said, it “is so closely connected with many of the historical events which led to … or arose from … the old laws we are now repealing”, though the fact that it made for a pretty photo-op can’t have hurt either.

There is much to be said in favour of this development, but the case must not be overstated. …

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The Shape of Things to Come?

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| Universities

Hot on the heels of last week’s reports that Irish university heads are seeking pay increases of up to 55%, today’s New York Times reports that At Universities, Plum Post at Top Is Now Shaky. Many of the reforms undertaken in the Irish university sector have been controversial, but we have not yet reached the situation in the NYT report, where several university heads have been ousted. Is this the shape of things to come, if not in Ireland where the sector seems to be coming to terms with the reforms, then perhaps in England: in Oxford, just before Christmas, similar reform plans were defeated, though the Vice Chancellor remains in place, at least for now.…

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Privacy Princess?

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| Privacy

The front page of today’s Times reports speculation that the royal family’s lawyers are preparing a privacy test case to prevent paparazzi harassment of Prince William’s girlfriend, Kate Middleton. No doubt, they have been emboldened by the decision of the Court of Appeal before Christmas that Prince Charles was entitled to assert that his private diaries about the handover of Hong Kong were confidential and protected by copyright. Of course, they will look at the full spectrum of available remedies, but the strategy most likely to be successful will be to build upon recent privacy decisions.

Last Saturday’s Irish Independent carries a story which gives a flavour of what this action is designed to prevent. …

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Because they’re worth it, again

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| Universities

Three pieces in today’s Irish Times relate to the state of higher education in Ireland today. Superficially, they all seem positive: the government is giving the sector more money; a consultant sets out a vision for the sector’s future; and the South East calls for a university. In other words, the univerities, their heads, and the South East, are all asking for something on the grounds that they are worth it.

Look more closely, however, and the three stories betray a malaise at the heart of Irish higher education. …

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Because they’re worth it

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| Universities

According to reports in the Irish Times and Irish Independent (here and here), a submission from the Irish University Association to the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector argues for a salary increase of up to 55 per cent for the seven heads of Ireland’s universities on the basis that they now face considerably greater complexity and accountability than heretofore in a global, highly competitive market. In fact, another article in today’s Irish Independent provides an intriguing vignette of how competitive the business of attracting students has become. The presidents’ jobs may indeed have got harder (they are certainly doing more, and more controversial things (see Sean Barrett and Tom Collins)). However, the jobs of all us at every level right across the sector have become that much harder. If they’re worth it, so are we.

Update 16 January 2007: Ed Walsh has weighed in on the side of the Presidents; John Walshe reports in the Irish Independent that the IUA has made a similar case to the Review Body on behalf of professors; and Sean Barrett has sounded a loud counterblast in favour of a pay boost for lecturers rather than presidents.…

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Pre-nuptial agreements: time for clarity?

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| Contract, Irish Law, Irish Society

The Minister for Justice has announced the membership of Pre-nuptial Study Group, whose terms of reference will be

to study and report on the operation of the law since the introduction of divorce in 1996 with respect to pre-nuptial agreements taking into account constitutional requirements.

Quite frankly, the law in this area is seriously in need of reform. …

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