Several public services in the field of justice are available online in Ireland. The website Citizens Information provides extensive information on online, phone, email and on-site services available to businesses and citizens in Ireland.
This includes services to request birth, marriage, civil partnership death, adoption and stillbirth certificates online. These documents can be obtained through online requests on the Health Service Executive (HSE) website (no authentication required). The General Register Office is responsible for the overall administration of the civil registration service in Ireland, while the HSE is responsible for the day-to-day delivery of the service through local Civil Registration Service offices. It is also possible to request an Irish passport & Irish passport card through the service of the Department of Foreign Affairs
Dedicated to that purpose (Passport Online). Others public documents, such as police certificates for instance, cannot be requested online.
It is also possible to lodge an application for legal aid online (Legal Aid Board) and to initiate a civil case online (District Court Offices) in Ireland. A range of services to related to the provision of information on companies and to companies formation are also available through the website of the Companies Registration Office (CRO) dedicated to these purposes (CORE).
Purpose and scope: Apply for civil legal aid and advice online.
Competent authority: Legal Aid Board
Conditions of access:
- Eligibility requirements: Residents of Ireland.
- Identification and authentication requirements: None.
- Documents to be provided:
- A payslip/P60, social welfare receipt, or Notice of Assessment from Revenue/Audited Accounts
- Details of any other income you receive (e.g. maintenance payments)
- Details of your income tax, PRSI, and USC payments (these will be on your payslip or Notice of Assessment).
- Details of your monthly mortgage/rent payments
- Approximate values of all of your capital assets except the house you live in
- Values of any savings you have
- Outstanding amounts on any loans/debts that you have
- Legal effects of electronic document:
Possibility to complete the procedure fully online: N/A
Cost: The service is free
Link: https://onlineapp1.board.ie/
More information on how to lodge an application for legal aid online in Ireland is available on the Legal Aid Board website and the on EJN’s factsheet.
It is not possible to apply for compensation schemes online in Ireland. More information on services related to compensation are available on the Citizens Information website and on the Irish government website.
Purpose and scope: The Small Claims procedure is a service designed to handle consumer or business claims inexpensively without involving a solicitor. Types of claims dealt with:
- a claim for goods or services bought for private use from someone selling them in the course of a business (consumer claims)
- a claim for goods or services bought for business use from someone selling them in the course of a business (business claims)
- a claim for minor damage to property (but excluding personal injuries)
- a claim for the non-return of a rent deposit for certain kinds of rented properties. For example, a holiday home or a room / flat in a premises where the owner also lives
The claim cannot exceed €2,000.
Competent authority: District Court offices
Conditions of access:
- Eligibility requirements: Available to all.
- Identification and authentication requirements: Users need to log-in through their account on the Courts Service Online (CSOL) system.
- Documents to be provided: Depending on the claim.
Legal effects of electronic document: N/A
Possibility to complete the procedure fully online: Yes
Cost: The current fee to make a claim is €25.
Link: https://www.csol.ie/ccms/welcome.html
More information how to initiative a Small Claim procedure online is available on The Court Service or Ireland website and on the EJN’s factsheet.
According to the EJN’s factsheet, electronic service of documents is not permitted in Ireland.
However, on 25 September 2018, S.I. No. 378 was signed into law and this came into operation on 17 October 2018. This S.I amends the Circuit Court rules to allow for electronic service of court documents, where there is consent from the parties to the proceedings. This brings the Circuit Court up to speed with the Superior Courts, where electronic service has been in action since November 2017 as per S.I. 475 2017. To avail of service of documents in this manner, the plaintiff’s solicitor shall endorse on the Civil Bill the email address where documents can be sent to.
Electronic service of judicial documents is thus permitted but via emails (and not through an online public service).
There are no public services related online judicial auctions in Ireland.
There are no online public services related to mediation in Ireland. More information in Ireland is available on the e-justice portal. For family mediation, information is also available on the Citizens information website and on the Legal Aid Board website.
Purpose and scope: The CRO is the central repository of public statutory information on Irish companies and business names. The CRO has a number of functions including the incorporation of companies and the registration of business names, the receipt and registration of post incorporation documents, the enforcement of the Companies Act in relation to the filing obligations and making information available to the public. Users can register their business name, form a company and file their company returns online through the Companies Online Registration Environment (CORE).
Competent authority: Companies Registration Office (CRO)
Conditions of access:
- Eligibility requirements: Individuals and firms.
- Identification and authentication requirements: Users must log-in through CORE.
- Documents to be provided: For a Private Company Limited by Shares (LTD company) the constitution consists of a one document constitution. All other company types have a constitution that includes a Memorandum of association and Articles of association. More information on the documents required is available on the CRO website.
Legal effects of electronic document: N/A
Possibility to complete the procedure fully online: Yes.
Cost: Depending on the service.
Link: https://core.cro.ie/
More information on the registration services provided by the CRO and on how to start a business in Ireland are available on the Citizens Information website and on the CRO website.
Under EU regulations, from February 2019 a Multilingual Standard Form (MSF) can be requested for birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates issued by the General Register Office. The purpose of an MSF is to provide a translation of the public document. The MSF itself has no legal effect. You must indicate which EU language that you require if you choose this option and it must be requested when applying for the certificate from the General Register Office in Roscommon. It is not possible to request an MSF online.