Editing Sheriff (section)

===Republic of Ireland===
In the Republic of Ireland, a sheriff ({{Langx|ga|sirriam}}<ref>{{cite web |author=Foras na Gaeilge |title=sheriff |url=https://www.tearma.ie/q/sheriff/en/ |access-date=11 July 2019 |website=téarma.ie |publisher=Dublin City University}}</ref>) is appointed under section 12(3) of the Court Officers Act 1945, to perform some of the functions that would otherwise be performed by the [[county registrar]].<ref name="hyland20122">{{cite web |last1=Hyland |first1=Paul |date=5 August 2012 |title=Explainer: Who and what are Ireland's sheriffs? |url=https://www.thejournal.ie/explainer-irelands-sheriffs-541570-Aug2012/ |access-date=11 July 2019 |website=TheJournal.ie |language=en}}</ref><ref name="irishstatutebook19452">[http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1945/act/25/section/12/enacted/en/html#sec12 Court Officers Act 1945, s.12]</ref><ref name="courtsservice2">{{cite web |title=Role of County Registrar |url=http://www.courts.ie/offices.nsf/0/8980B57008F0A15E802573D0006849DF?OpenDocument |access-date=11 July 2019 |publisher=Courts Service of Ireland}}</ref> In practice, two types of sheriff have been appointed:<ref name="hyland20122" />

Four sheriffs (one each for [[Sheriff of Dublin City|Dublin city]], [[Sheriff of County Dublin|County Dublin]], [[Cork city]], and [[County Cork]]) are full-time public officials whose responsibilities are:<ref name="hyland20122" /><ref name="courtsservice2" /><ref name="sheehan20132">{{cite news |last1=Sheehan |first1=Maeve |date=22 December 2013 |title=Good, bad and ugly side of being the city's sheriff |url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/good-bad-and-ugly-side-of-being-the-citys-sheriff-29859088.html |access-date=11 July 2019 |work=Sunday Independent |language=en}}</ref><ref name="merrionstreet20182">{{cite press release |title=Government makes appointments to Sheriff posts |date=30 November 2018 |url=https://merrionstreet.ie/en/News-Room/Releases/Government_makes_appointments_to_Sheriff_posts.html |language=en |last1=Nick |first1=Callan |access-date=11 July 2019 |website=merrionstreet.ie}}</ref>

* enforcing [[Court order|court orders]] of the [[Circuit Court (Ireland)|Circuit Court]], such as [[eviction]] or [[debt collection]]
* acting as [[returning officer]] in [[Elections in the Republic of Ireland|public elections]]
* executing tax certificates on behalf of the [[Revenue Commissioners]]

{{anchor|Revenue sheriff}}Fourteen sheriffs, colloquially called "Revenue sheriffs", have only the third of the preceding functions, the others being done by the county registrar's office.<ref name="hyland20122" /><ref name="dail19882">{{cite web |date=17 February 1988 |title=Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Revenue Sheriffs. |url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/1988-02-17/5/ |access-date=11 July 2019 |website=Dáil Éireann (25th Dáil) debates |publisher=Oireachtas |language=en-ie}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2018-11-30 |title=Government makes appointments to Sheriff posts |url=https://merrionstreet.ie/en/news-room/releases/government_makes_appointments_to_sheriff_posts.html |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=MerrionStreet.ie |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=February 2024 |title=Guidelines for Sheriff Enforcement |url=https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm/collection/enforcement/sheriff-enforcement.pdf |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=Revenue Commissioners}}</ref> Revenue sheriffs are [[Solicitor#Republic of Ireland|solicitors]] in private practice. Each covers a [[Bailiwick]], which consist of one or more of [[Local government in the Republic of Ireland|the state's remaining counties]]. The Bailiwicks are grouped by counties as follows: [[County Carlow|Carlow]] and [[County Kildare|Kildare]]; [[County Cavan|Cavan]], [[County Leitrim|Leitrim]], [[County Longford|Longford]] and [[County Monaghan|Monaghan]]; [[County Clare|Clare]] and [[County Limerick|Limerick]]; [[County Donegal|Donegal]]; [[County Galway|Galway]]; [[County Kerry|Kerry]]; [[County Kilkenny|Kilkenny]] and [[County Waterford|Waterford]]; [[County Laois|Laois]], [[County Offaly|Offaly]] and [[County Tipperary|Tipperary]]; [[County Louth|Louth]], [[County Meath|Meath]] and [[County Westmeath|Westmeath]]; [[County Mayo|Mayo]]; [[County Roscommon|Roscommon]] and [[County Sligo|Sligo]]; and [[County Wexford|Wexford]] and [[County Wicklow|Wicklow]].<ref name="dail19882" />

Prior to the 1922 creation of the [[Irish Free State]], Irish law regarding sheriffs mirrored that of England,<ref name="hyland20122" /> latterly with each [[administrative county]] and [[county borough]] having a ceremonial [[High Sheriff#Ireland|high sheriff]] and functional [[Under-sheriff|under-sheriffs]] responsible for enforcing court orders of the [[County court#Ireland|county court]] or [[quarter sessions]].<ref name="hyland20122" /> The [[Courts of Justice Act 1924]] replaced these courts with a new circuit court.<ref>[http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1924/act/10/enacted/en/print.html Courts of Justice Act 1924, ss. 37, 51]</ref> The Court Officers Act 1926 formally abolished high sheriffs and phased out under-sheriffs by providing that, as each retired, his functions would be transferred to the county registrar,  established by the 1926 act as an officer of the circuit court.<ref name="hyland20122" /><ref>[http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1926/act/27/enacted/en/print Court Officers Act 1926 ss.35, 38, 52, 54]</ref> When the Dublin city under-sheriff retired in 1945, the city registrar was too overworked with other responsibilities to take over his duties, so the Court Officers Act 1945 was passed to allow a new office of sheriff to take over some or all of the under-sheriff's functions.<ref name="hyland20122" /><ref name="irishstatutebook19452" /> The four Dublin and Cork sheriffs were soon appointed, with much of the under-sheriff's responsibilities.<ref name="hyland20122" /> Revenue sheriffs were introduced for the rest of the state in the late 1980s as part of a crackdown on [[tax evasion]].<ref name="hyland20122" /><ref name="dail19882" />  In 1993 the [[Comptroller and Auditor General (Ireland)|comptroller and auditor general]] expressed concern that funds collected and held in trust by sheriffs on behalf of the revenue commissioners were at risk of [[commingling]].<ref>{{cite web |date=15 June 1993 |title=Written Answers. - Collection of Moneys by Sheriffs |url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/ga/debates/debate/dail/1993-06-15/51/ |access-date=19 July 2019 |website=Dáil Éireann (27th Dáil) proceedings |publisher=Oireachtas |language=Irish}}</ref> This was reformed in 1998 by prohibiting sheriffs from retaining the interest earned on such monies and, to compensate, increasing their [[Retainer agreement|retainer]].<ref name="dail19992">{{cite web |last1=O'Donoghue |first1=John |date=24 June 1999 |title=Courts (Supplemental Provisions) (Amendment) Bill, 1999: Second Stage |url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/1999-06-24/11/#para_308 |access-date=19 July 2019 |website=Dáil Éireann (28th Dáil) debates |publisher=Oireachtas |language=en-ie}}; {{cite web |title=S.I. No. 314/1998 - Sheriffs' Fees and Expenses Order, 1998 |url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1998/si/314/made/en/print |access-date=19 July 2019 |website=electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB) |language=en}}</ref> Through to the 1990s the sheriff's post was in the gift of the [[Minister for Justice (Ireland)|minister for justice]], but by the 2010s it was advertised by the [[Public Appointments Service]].<ref name="dail19992" /><ref name="sheehan20132" /><ref name="merrionstreet20182" /> A 1988 [[Law Reform Commission (Ireland)|Law Reform Commission]] report made recommendations for updating the 1926 law on sheriffs;<ref>{{cite web |date=October 1988 |title=Debt collection: (1) the law relating to sheriffs |url=https://publications.lawreform.ie/Portal/External/en-GB/RecordView/Index/30504 |publisher=[[Law Reform Commission (Ireland)|Law Reform Commission]] |id=LRC 27-1988}}</ref> {{As of|2023|lc=y}} few of these had been implemented, and the government began a review of the role of sheriffs in state work.<ref>{{cite web |date=March 2023 |title=Examining the Role of Sheriffs in Respect of State Work |url=https://www.lawlibrary.ie/reports/examining-the-role-of-sheriffs-in-respect-to-state-work |access-date=15 January 2024 |publisher=[[Bar of Ireland]] |page=14 |format=PDF}}</ref>

Under section 12(5) of the Court Officers Act 1945, an appointee for sheriff must be either:

* A barrister who has practiced for no less than five years; or
* A solicitor who has practiced for not less than five years; or
* Have acted for not less than five years as managing clerk or principal assistant to an under-sheriff or sheriff.<ref name=":0" />