Claire Loftus (born 1967) is an Irish solicitor and civil servant who was the

Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members of ...

between 2011 and 2021.

Early life

Loftus was born in 1967 and is from South

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. Her father Dermot was a solicitor. She completed her

Leaving Certificate A secondary school leaving qualification is a document signifying that the holder has fulfilled any secondary education requirements of their locality, often including the passage of a final qualification examination. For each leaving certifica ...

in 1984 and was educated at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

, where she studied history and politics. She graduated with a BA in 1987 and later obtained a higher diploma in European law. She studied for a year at Rathmines College and received a master's degree in Public Sector Management from

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

in 2002.

Early career

She undertook an apprenticeship at a family law practice, Marcus A Lynch and Son, and qualified as a solicitor in 1992. She began her career a prosecutor in 1993. Working at the Chief State Solicitor's Office, she served in the District Court section for seven years. She was involved in cases involving health and safety law and money laundering. She was the solicitor to Tribunal of Inquiry into the Blood Transfusion Service Board, which was led by retired

Chief Justice of Ireland The Chief Justice of Ireland ( ga, Príomh-Bhreitheamh na hÉireann) is the president of the Supreme Court of Ireland. The chief justice is the highest judicial office and most senior judge in Ireland. The role includes constitutional and admin ...

Thomas Finlay. She was involved in the prosecution of former

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the offi ...

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...

in 1998 related to obstruction of the

McCracken Tribunal Brian Moore McCracken (born 13 July 1934) is a retired Irish judge who served as a Judge of the Supreme Court from 2002 to 2006 and a Judge of the High Court from 1995 to 2002. He is an officer of Trinity College, Dublin – ''Visitor of the Col ...

. Between 2001 and 2009, she was the Chief Prosecution Solicitor at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. She was later in charge of the Directing Division at the DPP from 2009. She served on the Criminal Law Committee of the

Law Society of Ireland The Law Society of Ireland ( ga, Dlí-Chumann na hÉireann) is a professional body established on 24 June 1830 and is the educational, representative and regulatory body of the solicitors' profession in Ireland. As of 2020, the Law Society ha ...

from 2002 until being appointed DPP, including a term as the chair.

Director of Public Prosecutions

Loftus was appointed as the Director of Public Prosecutions in November 2011, following the retirement of

James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland * James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman * James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), S ...

. She is the first woman and the first solicitor to hold the position. Her term is for ten years. At the beginning of her term, the agency dealt with budget cuts and prosecutions arising out of the

post-2008 Irish banking crisis The post-2008 Irish banking crisis was the situation whereby, due to the Great Recession, a number of Irish financial institutions faced almost imminent collapse due to insolvency. In response, the Irish government instigated a €64 billion ban ...

. A decision of the

Supreme Court of Ireland , image = Coat of arms of Ireland.svg , imagesize = 120px , alt = , caption = Coat of Arms of Ireland , image2 = Four Courts, Dublin 2014-09-13.jpg , imagesize2 = , alt2 ...

in ''DPP v JC'' afforded greater flexibility to the DPP on the exclusion of evidence. Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Act 2017 gave greater access to the DPP's procedural process to victims of crime. In 2018, she called for courts to reform the way in which they conducted criminal trials. She announced the establishment of a sexual offences unit within the DPP to be created in 2020. She completed her term in November 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loftus, Claire Living people Irish solicitors Irish civil servants Irish women civil servants Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of Trinity College Dublin 1967 births