Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend Deputy Creighton on her amendment. The issue here is one of perception. While I do not wish to use terms such as "the majority" or "the overwhelming majority", on the whole the Judiciary has served the State well. A lack of consistency in decision making, particularly in the District Courts, is an issue that arises regularly, although such issues could be addressed through the establishment of a sentencing council which provided clear sentencing guidelines to the Judiciary. There are various ways of addressing that issue.

There remains a perception that many judicial appointments are based on the political affiliations of the person appointed. The Government has justifiably challenged the perception that the legal fraternity has regulated itself over the years. While the Judiciary has a system of regulation in place and there is also an independent adjudicator, the perception persisted that it was regulating itself. This perception is being addressed through the establishment of an independent legal services regulator. The issue is that we must deal once and for all with the perception.

When one speaks of members of the Judiciary who have served the State well the Chief Justice, Mrs. Justice Susan Denham, must feature at the top of the list. She has produced a measured set of proposals on behalf of fellow members of the Judiciary. A number of Deputies, including me, have introduced various Bills to address the issue. I flatter myself in stating that the Chief Justice's proposal was identical to mine in that it recommended having the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board draw up a short-list of three names, from which the Government would make an appointment, with provision also to have the reasons published. That is the purpose of the amendment.

The Legal Services Regulation Bill has been dragging on for three years. There is a myth abroad that the previous Minister took on vested interests who were popping champagne corks when he departed from office. They did not have much to fear given that it took three years to pass the legislation to establish an independent regulator and address a perception. The legislation will not address to any great extent the main issue facing people, namely, the cost of legal services. The idea that the previous Minister was courageously taking on vested interests was a myth and nonsense.

He did not deal with this issue, but it could be dealt with so quickly. It is really frustrating. I commend Deputy Creighton for availing of this opportunity to raise the issue. I appreciate that we are not going to change the Minister's mind today, but the sooner she gets this perception of judicial appointments sorted out the better.

For example, there are people who had affiliations to political parties, as members or candidates, and that is okay. It may well be that a person ran for Fine Gael, Sinn Féin or Labour and happened to be the best person for the job. Somebody's political affiliation should not rule them out from being appointed to the Judiciary. If we have a transparent and open process that is beyond challenge, it takes away any negative perception. That is the issue. The sooner we get to that place the better and particularly for the Judiciary.

It makes our job easier on this side of the House that somebody of Mrs. Justice Susan Denham's calibre has led the way in providing a solution. It is pretty much the solution that both I and Deputy Creighton have put forward in this amendment. If the Minister is not going to accept the amendment today, she should get the review concluded as soon as possible so as to address this matter.

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