The attorney general of Ireland () is a constitutional officer who is the legal adviser to the Government and is therefore the chief law officer of the State. The attorney general is not a member of the Government but does participate in cabinet meetings when invited and attends government meetings. The current attorney general is Rossa Fanning, SC.
Overview The office and functions of the attorney general are outlined in Article 30 of the Constitution of Ireland.
The attorney general has always been a barrister rather than a solicitor, although this is not a requirement for the post. In cases where a barrister nominated by the Taoiseach to be the attorney general was not a senior counsel at the time, the government of the day has made them one first, as occurred in the cases of John M. Kelly and John Rogers.
The attorney general advises the government on the constitutionality of bills and treaties, and presents the government's case if the President refers any bill to the Supreme Court under Article 26 of the Constitution before signing it.
The attorney general has few prosecution duties; these are limited to functions under the various Fisheries Acts and Extradition Acts. Instead, the Director of Public Prosecutions has responsibility for all other criminal prosecutions in the State.
The Office of the Attorney General is made up of different offices: The Attorney General's Office (located at Government Buildings, Merrion Street, Dublin 2) containing the advisory counsel to the attorney general (providing legal advice) The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (also located at Merrion Street, Dublin 2) containing the Parliamentary Counsel who draft legislation and have responsibilities in the area of Statute Law revision The Chief State Solicitor's Office (located at Little Ship Street, Dublin 8) containing the solicitors representing the Attorney and the State who provide litigation, conveyancing and other transactional services The Statute Law Revision Unit which simplifies and improves the body of statute law
Part of the attorney general's function has been to support the Statute Law Revision Programme of the Law Reform Commission, which reviews all legislation passed before independence to investigate which laws are obsolete and may be repealed, and which should be kept. This includes laws of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Britain, England, and the Irish Parliament. For example, the killing of cattle in Dublin is still regulated, in part by an Irish act of 1743, the Slaughter of Cattle Act 1743 (17 Geo. 2. c. 5 (I)), while the "Treatment of Foreign Merchants" is governed by clause 30 of Magna Carta (25 Edw. 1), an act of the Parliament of England dated 1297.
History The Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924 provided a legislative basis for the Attorney-General of the Irish Free State (). This act provided it with:
It also transferred the following bodies to the office of the Attorney-General: Chief Crown Solicitor for Ireland. Chief State Solicitor's Department and all local State Solicitors. Treasury Solicitor for Ireland. Parliamentary Draftsman. Charities. Estates of illegitimate deceased persons.
The Constitution of Ireland, which came into operation on 29 December 1937, established the position of Attorney General of Ireland in Article 30, providing it with a constitutional basis for the first time. Article 59 provided that the attorney general of Saorstát Éireann before the coming into operation of the Constitution would become the attorney general on the coming into operation of the Constitution without the need for an appointment, which occurred on 29 December 1937.
Until 1974, the attorney general was responsible for the prosecution of criminal offences. In 1974, the position of Director of Public Prosecutions was established. Local state solicitors were transferred to the Director of Public Prosecutions in 2007.
Other functions Two less well-known but significant roles played by all Irish Attorneys General to date are as the "leader of the Irish Bar" and as a Bencher of the King's Inns. The acceptance by Attorneys General of these non-statutory and often secretive roles upon taking office throughout the years has been questioned and criticised as inappropriate for a constitutional office-holder. In 1990, the Fair Trade Commission stated that "[w]e have recommended that the Bar Council should be the primary disciplinary body for barristers, and it does not include any members of the judiciary. The Attorney General is, however, a member of the Bar Council, and the Commission believes that it is preferable that he should not be involved when the Bar Council is exercising its disciplinary function. The Attorney General is also a member of the Council of King's Inns, and the Commission believes it to preferable that he should not participate in any disciplinary activity pursued by that body either. Indeed, in general, we find the membership of these bodies by the Attorney General to be somewhat anomalous."
Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government is the Office of the parliamentary counsel to the Government of Ireland. It is part of the office of the Attorney General. It drafts bills which the Government intends to introduce in the Oireachtas. Although the Oireachtas as the legislature has formal authority to enact legislation, in practice the government whip rarely allows substantive amendments to bills to be made in the Dáil or Seanad; thus the Parliamentary Counsel's role is crucial.
List of attorneys general Attorneys general of the Irish Free StateNameTerm of officeSubsequent judicial or political careerHugh Kennedy31 January 19225 June 1924Chief Justice 1924–1936John O'Byrne7 June 19249 January 1926High Court judge 1926–1940Supreme Court judge 1940–1954John A. Costello9 January 19269 March 1932Taoiseach 1948–1951, 1954–1957Conor Maguire10 March 19322 November 1936President of the High Court 1936–1946Chief Justice 1946–1961James Geoghegan2 November 193622 December 1936Supreme Court judge 1936–1949Patrick Lynch22 December 193629 December 1937Continued as AG of IrelandAttorneys general of IrelandNameTerm of officeSubsequent judicial or political careerPatrick Lynch29 December 19371 March 1940Kevin Haugh2 March 194010 October 1942High Court judge 1942–1961Supreme Court judge 1961–1969Kevin Dixon10 October 194230 April 1946High Court judge 1946–1959Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh30 April 194618 February 1948Chief Justice of IrelandCecil Lavery19 February 194821 April 1950Supreme Court judge 1950–1966Charles Casey21 April 195012 June 1951High Court judge 1951–1952Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh14 June 195111 July 1953Supreme Court judge 1953–1973Chief Justice 1961–1973European Court of Justice judge 1973–1974President of Ireland 1974–1976Thomas Teevan11 July 195330 January 1954High Court judge 1954–1971Aindrias Ó Caoimh30 January 19542 June 1954Patrick McGilligan2 June 195420 March 1957Aindrias Ó Caoimh20 March 195715 March 1965President of the High Court 1966–1974European Court of Justice judge 1975–1985Colm Condon16 March 196514 March 1973Declan Costello15 March 197319 May 1977Judge of the High Court 1977–1998President of the High Court 1995–1998John Kelly20 May 19775 July 1977Minister for Trade, Commerce and Tourism 1981–1982Anthony J. Hederman6 July 197729 June 1981Supreme Court judge 1981–1993Peter Sutherland30 June 19819 March 1982Patrick Connolly10 March 198216 August 1982John L. Murray17 August 198214 December 1982Peter Sutherland15 December 198212 December 1984European Commissioner for Competition 1985–1989Director-General of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1993–1994Director-General of the World Trade Organization 1995Chairman of Goldman Sachs 1995–2015UN Special Representative for International Migration 2006–2017John Rogers13 December 198410 March 1987John L. Murray11 March 198725 September 1991European Court of Justice judge 1992–1999Supreme Court judge 1999–2015Chief Justice 2004–2011Harry Whelehan26 September 199111 November 1994President of the High Court 15–17 November 1994Eoghan Fitzsimons11 November 199415 December 1994Dermot Gleeson15 December 199426 June 1997David Byrne26 June 199717 July 1999European Commissioner for Consumer Protection 1999–2004Michael McDowell17 July 19996 June 2002Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform 2002–2007Tánaiste 2006–2007Senator for National University of Ireland since 2016Rory Brady7 June 200214 June 2007Paul Gallagher14 June 20079 March 2011Máire Whelan9 March 201114 June 2017Court of Appeal judge 2017–Séamus Woulfe14 June 201727 June 2020Supreme Court judge 2020–Paul Gallagher27 June 202017 December 2022Rossa Fanning17 December 2022Incumbent
Notes
References
External links
Irish Statute Book produced by the Office of the Attorney General