President Higgins appoints two women as Supreme Court judges
Two women have been appointed as Supreme Court judges by President Michael D Higgins – Justice Mary Laffoy and Justice Elizabeth Dunne, both former High Court judges.
The appointments mean that Chief Justice Susan Denham is no longer the only female judge in the Supreme Court. Four of the most senior justice positions in the State are now held by women for the first time – the others being director of public prosecutions Claire Loftus, Attorney General Maire Whelan and chief State solicitor Eileen Creedon.
Justices Laffoy and Dunne were sworn in yesterday at Áras an Uachtaráin at a ceremony attended by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD, Minister for Justice Alan Shatter TD and Whelan and will make their formal declarations to the Supreme Court today.
Judge Laffoy is the former chair of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, who resigned her position in 2003 amid claims of a lack of government co-operation.
Judge Dunne’s 2009 ruling in a series of mortgage actions forced the Government to close a loophole in repossessions law and is highly regarded for her expertise in debt and banking law.