Irish Council for Civil Liberties

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Irish Council for Civil Liberties Ireland’s leading independent human rights watchdog. We monitor, educate and campaign to secure human rights & equality for everyone.

We're completely independent of government and rely on support from members. Ireland’s leading independent human rights watchdog, which monitors, educates and campaigns in order to secure full enjoyment of human rights for everyone. [email protected]

www.iccl.ie

00353 1 7994504

Are you interested in becoming a legal observer? We have two training sessions this Thursday in Dublin city centre - one...
22/09/2026

Are you interested in becoming a legal observer?

We have two training sessions this Thursday in Dublin city centre - one at 1pm and one at 6pm.

Legal observers are independent human rights defenders. They are trained to monitor, document and report on the policing of protests to ensure that gardaí are operating within the law.

Legal observers do not take part in protests. They focus on the rights of those involved, rather than the issue that is being protested.

If you'd like to take the training and join the Irish Network of Legal Observers, email [email protected].

At ICCL we believe in human rights, equality and dignity. We work every day to protect the rights of people to live safe...
10/09/2026

At ICCL we believe in human rights, equality and dignity. We work every day to protect the rights of people to live safely and freely as they are, and the international frameworks which uphold those rights. We stand against racism, misogyny, trans- and homophobia, abuses of power, invasions of privacy and discrimination.

This Saturday, we will be joining the protest in Dublin against Donald Trump and his policies. We hope that as many people as possible will take to the streets to tell him that he and his policies are not what we stand for here in Ireland.

If you can, join a protest this weekend and add your voice to the thousands who will be rejecting Trump and his policies.

If you’d like to join us in Dublin, we’ll be gathering at the Garden of Remembrance from 12.45pm – keep an eye out for ICCL flags and banners.

ICCL is looking for a new Office and Operations Manager! The successful candidate will manage all core ICCL administrati...
09/09/2026

ICCL is looking for a new Office and Operations Manager!

The successful candidate will manage all core ICCL administrative processes; develop and monitor ICCL's organisational budget; and undertake key governance tasks including secretarial support to the Board and overseeing ICCL's compliance with regulatory obligations.

This role is an integral part of the ICCL team, working closely with the entire ICCL staff team and external contractors to ensure the smooth and successful operation of the organisation, and its office and finances.

If you think this might be the role for you or someone you know, then check out the link in our bio for the full job description.

Yesterday the Minister for Justice announced his plans to restrict access to Irish citizenship.The proposed legislation ...
08/09/2026

Yesterday the Minister for Justice announced his plans to restrict access to Irish citizenship.

The proposed legislation would increase the standard residence requirement from five to eight years and introduce language, civics, income and social conditions, which could exclude people who are already contributing to Irish society.

No rationale, research or evidence has been presented by the Department for these proposed changes, and no issues have been identified within the current system.

Claims that these changes bring us in line with Europe do not ring true when many European countries maintain a 5 year residence requirement.

With organisations working alongside and for people who will be directly affected by these proposals, we are urging the Government to scrap these plans that are simply aimed at making Ireland a hostile place for migrants who contribute so much to our economy and society.

Meta has agreed to adapt Facebook and Instagram to resolve claims by US states that it designed the platforms to addict ...
28/08/2026

Meta has agreed to adapt Facebook and Instagram to resolve claims by US states that it designed the platforms to addict children, misled consumers about their safety and improperly collected children's personal data.

So we’re asking…

Will Meta extend these new protections to children in Europe?

And if not, why not?

We’ve written to Meta asking these questions.

Part of the settlement is contingent on Meta’s competitors agreeing to take similar steps.

And so we have also written to YouTube and TikTok to ask whether they will make the changes proposed by Meta and extend those to children in Europe.

Gardaí routinely question Irish journalists in an effort to identify their confidential sources.That’s according to a ne...
20/08/2026

Gardaí routinely question Irish journalists in an effort to identify their confidential sources.

That’s according to a new study by Cian Ó Concubhair and Glory Anumudu of Maynooth University.

It’s the first ever study of crime and security journalism in Ireland, involving interviews with 23 journalists working in the North and South of Ireland.

ICCL is proud to be a partner in the research.

Link in bio to read the full report.

22/07/2026

The recent changes introduced by the Minister for Justice to the criminal legal aid scheme are undermining access to justice and people's fundamental rights.

These changes will especially impact people in more vulnerable situations - people who are homeless or close to it, people struggling with addiction, people with learning difficulties and in some cases children.

We are calling on the Minister to reverse this new policy immediately.

Today Osgur Breatnach's wrongful conviction for the 1976 Sallins Train Robbery was declared a miscarriage of justice. We...
21/07/2026

Today Osgur Breatnach's wrongful conviction for the 1976 Sallins Train Robbery was declared a miscarriage of justice.

We were proud to attend today's hearing with Osgur, his family and other human rights organisations who have long supported the cause of the six men known as the Sallins Men - Amnesty International Ireland, the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), Fair Trials and the Pat Finucane Centre.

Speaking today on behalf of the five organisations outside the Criminal Courts of Justice, ICCL Executive Director Joe O’Brien, said:

“Today’s decision to grant a miscarriage of justice certificate to Osgur Breatnach – 50 years after the Sallins Train Robbery, 48 years after his wrongful conviction and 46 years after his acquittal – is a significant step forward in Osgur’s ongoing quest for justice and accountability. ICCL, Amnesty International Ireland, the Committee on the Administration of Justice, Fair Trials and the Pat Finucane Centre have all long campaigned to highlight the abuses and human rights violations which the Sallins Men experienced at the hands of the Irish State.

“While today it has finally been recognised that a miscarriage of justice occurred, the government still refuses to investigate the grievous wrongs that were committed against the men. Impunity for those involved has been facilitated by ongoing failures to properly investigate not just what happened to these men but why and at whose behest.

“The Minister for Justice claims that this case is historic and has told us that he is satisfied there is “no matter of significant public concern that would warrant reopening the case and establishing a Commission of Investigation”. We urge the Minister to reconsider his position. Two of the men are now sadly dead, Brian McNally just last month. Time does not diminish the human rights violations that were committed against these six men and how these live on for them and their families. Nor does it diminish their desire for justice. Our organisations will continue to campaign alongside these men for a public, independent and human rights-compliant investigation.”

08/07/2026

The government is giving An Garda Síochána access to facial recognition technology and other biometric tools to identify and track us.

This puts our rights at risk!

Sign our petition to stop facial recognition technology

Link in Bio 🔗

The Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 was first presented to the Dáil in January,...
02/07/2026

The Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 was first presented to the Dáil in January, following publication of the draft outline in May 2025.

The Minister has repeatedly stated since last May that the Bill would provide gardaí with the power to compel a person to remove a face covering, but the relevant sections of the Bill were only published today as amendments, after the completion of pre-legislative scrutiny and Dáil debate, and on the day of the final Seanad debate.

ICCL has previously raised concerns about giving gardaí these powers and about the practice of amending draft legislation, thereby bypassing debate and scrutiny in the Oireachtas.

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First Floor, Castleriver House, 14/15 Parliament Street, Dublin 2
Dublin
D02FW60

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Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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