Court archive
Ireland. The High Court
2025-03-10 · Ireland
The mother of a five‑year‑old boy with autism, who was told she must wait six years to access HSE services, has asked the High Court to review the proposed time frame. She says the boy's assessment application was made on 13 December 2022, but the HSE's own timetable would have had it started on 13 February 2023 and finished by 13 May 2023. The report, received on 16 October 2024, confirmed the boy met the criteria for autism spectrum disorder and showed significant delays across motor, language, cognitive and social‑emotional domains. She argues that a six‑year wait until May 2028 would cause significant harm to his health and education. The court granted permission for a judicial review, reserved costs and adjourned the case to April. The case is now set for a hearing.
2019-04-12 · Laois
A 79‑year‑old dual US‑Irish citizen, Daniel Mullan, is wanted by the FBI for alleged child‑pornography offences and the sexual exploitation of a minor. He is currently in custody at Midlands Prison, Portlaoise, and faces extradition to New York. In December, the High Court ordered his extradition, a decision upheld by the Court of Appeal on 12 April 2019. Mullan's lawyers challenged the order, arguing that his serious health problems—including sight loss, inability to walk, morbid obesity, atrial fibrillation, chronic cardiac failure, anxiety and cellulitis—made extradition disproportionate and not in the public interest. The Court of Appeal dismissed the challenge, stating that the evidence of his health was scant and that the Irish prison system had handled his custody well. The judge noted that the seriousness of the alleged offences and Ireland's international agreement with the United States supported the extradition.
2019-02-26 · Laois
The Court of Appeal has adjourned the appeal of Daniel Mullan, a 79-year-old dual US-Irish citizen, regarding his proposed extradition to the United States. Mullan is currently in custody at Midlands Prison, Portlaoise, and is wanted by the FBI in New York to face trial on charges of sexual exploitation and transportation of a minor, as well as two counts of possessing child pornography. The FBI alleges he produced and sold such material for at least 30 years. Mullan was indicted by a New York Grand Jury in September 2017 while serving a sentence for sexual offences in Ireland. The High Court ordered his extradition in December, a decision he is now challenging. His counsel argued that Mullan should be prosecuted in Ireland under the Sexual Offences (Jurisdiction) Act 1996 and cited his severe medical conditions, including sight loss and cardiac failure, as grounds for blocking extradition under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Attorney General's counsel countered that these conditions do not bar extradition, noting US prison facilities are adequate and that Mullan lacks a sufficient family life nexus in Ireland. President of the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice George Birmingham, sitting with Ms Justice Máire Whelan and Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy, reserved the court's judgement. The matter was adjourned, and no final decision was reached during this hearing.