Mema Byrne BL

Mema Byrne is a barrister  with a wide civil practice  encompassing property and environmental law, probate law, commercial disputes and local governement law. Mema was called to the Bar in 2003 and has been a member of the Bar Council of Ireland for 4 years. During her tenure on the Bar Council Mema has been Chair of the Library Committee and the Public Affairs Committee. Mema has lectured in Land Law and Landlord and Tenant Law and is the author of Landlord and Tenant- The Commercial Sector (Roundhall, 2014). Mema is currently working on a second edition of this publication. Mema is an experienced mediator accredited with CEDR. Mema has acted in a number of property arbitrations and is particularly interested in arbitration as a means of resolving disputes.

Mema is an adjudicator and mediator with the Residential Tenancies Board, a member of the Valuations Tribunal, a Chairperson with the Mental Health Commission,  a member of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal.

Property Disputes

Mema regularly acts  in  property disputes, including cases relating to housing, rent arrears, ejectments, easements, boundary disputes, enforcement actions and ground rents. Mema  has appeared in all courts,  in  plenary, summary, and injunctive proceedings.

Judicial Review/ Administrative Law

Mema has advised and represented a National University in respect of educational standards and its appeal to the awarding body. Mema has represented clients in a wide variety of judicial review proceedings including housing and local government matters.

Books

1. Landlord & Tenant Law—The Commercial Sector. Round Hall. Dublin, 2013

Articles

1. Developments in Business InterruptionCases due to COVID–19, Bar Council of Ireland, 2021.
2. Section 261: Bringing historic quarries within the planning regime, Local Government Law Review 2010, 2, 102-110.
3. Estoppel and Rent Reductions—Issues to Consider, Conveyancing and Property Law Journal 2014, 19(1), 9-14.
4. Upwards only rent review Bill attempts a balancing act, Irish Times March 31st 2014

Mema has delivered papers at a number of conferences including:

Dublin Solicitors Bar Association, March 2022, “Recent Developments in Landlord and Tenant Law”.

Built Environment Conference, Mason Hayes and Curran Solicitors, November 2022, “Developments in Landlord and Tenant Law”.

Planning, Environmental and Local Government Bar Association, Housing Conference, July 2021, “The Affordable Housing Act, 2021, the Land Development Agency Bill, 2021  and  an overview of   Strategic Housing Developments”.

Solicitors Bar Association, November 2020, “Termination of Commercial Leases”.

Construction Law Association, September 2020, “High-density Housing/Multi-Unit Developments, and Recent Changes”.

Bar Council of Ireland, February 2020, Property Law Update.

Planning, Environmental and Local Government Bar Association, March 2019, “Developments in Local Authority Housing”.