The Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence Mr Alan Shatter T.D. today
announced the appointment of his Special Advisers Mr. Thomas Andrew Cooney
and Ms. Jane Lehane. These appointments were made under the provisions set
out in the Public Service Management Act 1997.
Mr. Thomas Andrew Cooney; with effect from 28 March 2011:
Tom Cooney lectured in law at UCD School of Law. He taught a range of
subjects, including Constitutional Law, EU law, and co-taught Jurisprudence
(Legal Philosophy) with the late John Kelly TD. He also introduced into the
curriculum, and taught, the Law of Armed Conflict, Planning and Development
Law, and Medical Law. He trained as a solicitor under Dan Sullivan in
Malone & Potter, Solicitors, where he acquired experience in areas
involving labour law, civil litigation, prisoners’ rights and Travellers’
rights. In the 1990s he was Chairperson of the Irish Council for Civil
Liberties, a voluntary, independent civil liberties organisation. He
chaired the Working Party of Child Sexual Abuse, and co-edited (with Ruth
Torode of TCD) its report on the need for reform of services and law. He
has contributed to the literature of civil liberties, including (with Orla
O’Neill) in the field of mental health law. He is a former member of the
executive of the Anti-Apartheid Movement and a member of its Legal
Sub-Committee. He served in the 11th Field Engineers in the FCA now the
Reserve, which was based in Clancy Barracks.
Ms. Jane Lehane; with effect from 10 March 2011:
Jane Lehane was Parliamentary Assistant to Alan Shatter TD, Minister for
Justice, Equality and Defence in his capacity as Fine Gael Spokesperson on
Justice, 2010 – 2011, Fine Gael Spokesperson on Children, 2007 – 2010. She
previously held positions between 1998 and 2006 first as Executive
Co-ordinator and later as CEO of Visit USA Committee Ireland, an
organisation working to promote the USA in the Irish marketplace as a
leisure and business destination.