Good Samaritan law

First Aid & CPR Ireland

The Good Samaritan: compassion and protection

Drawn from the Bible (Luke 10:25-37), the parable of the Good Samaritan tells of a traveller left for dead who is rescued by a stranger that tends to him and sees to his care. Beyond its religious context, it carries a universal message: the moral duty to help others in danger, through compassion and altruism.

Inspired by this principle, many so-called Good Samaritan laws have been enacted around the world to protect those who assist in good faith during an emergency from legal action. The exact scope of that protection, however, varies from one jurisdiction to another: here is what the law applicable to your region provides.

Statute citation

Governing act Common law — no general criminal offence of failure to rescue. Civil rescuer immunity is provided by the Civil Liability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011.
Scope of protection Under Irish common law there is no general duty to rescue: a mere bystander who could assist is not ordinarily liable for failing to do so. Duties to intervene arise only from special relationships (parent/child, occupier/visitor, carrier/passenger, innkeeper/guest). The Law Reform Commission (2009) recommended against creating any general duty. Conversely, the Civil Liability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011 grants genuine civil immunity to a "good samaritan" (a person who, without expectation of payment, provides assistance, advice or care in an emergency) and to volunteers, except for gross negligence or bad faith.
Duty to rescue No
AED liability protection No
No legal duty to rescue

Your protection under the law

Ireland has taken the opposite path to compulsion: rather than imposing a general duty to rescue, it generously protects the person who helps. The Civil Liability (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011 grants genuine civil immunity to the "good samaritan" — the person who, without expecting payment, provides assistance, advice or care in an emergency — and to volunteers, save for gross negligence or bad faith. You can therefore step in with peace of mind: the law covers the sincere act.

No duty to act, but every reason to

In Ireland, the common law recognises no general duty to rescue: a mere bystander who could help is not ordinarily bound to do so, and the Law Reform Commission itself recommended in 2009 against creating any such obligation. Helping is therefore your free choice — but the 2011 Act does everything to make that choice easy by shielding you from suit, as long as you act in good faith. Note that AED use has no immunity of its own, but is covered by this same general "good samaritan" protection.

Why training matters

In Ireland, the law does not compel you to act — it trusts you and protects you if you do. That leaves the only thing that truly matters: being able to help. In a cardiac arrest, every minute without resuscitation cuts the chance of survival by roughly 10%, and the bystander who is there is the first link in the chain of survival, long before the ambulance. Training gives you the means to say "yes" when someone's life is at stake beside you. The law has you covered; all that's missing is the know-how. Go and get it.