Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The reform of the process of appointing judges is long overdue. In keeping with the controversies mentioned by other speakers, my primary concern is that we get the best and most capable judges possible through any process. Political patronage does not necessarily promote those who are incapable of doing the job, but it certainly does exclude from consideration those who are as capable if not more so. I do not know if it still exists, but there was a culture in the law of some individuals joining political parties with the intent of keeping an option open as to whether they might get an appointment to the Bench. I remember being at a Law Society dinner once, where a late colleague came to the table and asked whether the six of us were ready for the Fianna Fáil church gate collection on Sunday morning. To my surprise, I discovered when I checked that I was the only one who was not a card-carrying member.

See this speech in context