Dr. Jennifer Carroll MacNeill:

Yes. My research looked at the background of judges and compared it with 1969. It is clear that there is a 20-year lag on something happening and it affecting the Judiciary, because it takes that long in terms of professional practice to become seriously eligible for judicial appointment. Therefore, there is a lag concerning women who patriciate in university. It may also come up in respect of race in years to come as Ireland becomes more diverse.

Looking at the question of class, however, there were differences between 1969 and 2004. As regards the different schools that people attended who later made it onto the High Court, in 1969 it had been a narrow group. In 2004, the judges who would have been in school at about that time, came from a much broader range of schools. There were different ways of becoming a judge. For example, a couple of judges had worked in the Civil Service and did the examinations at night-time. They had not gone to university whereas, in 1969, they has essentially all gone to university. That is something that has expanded over time but the reality is that one cannot be a judge without a university education, a professional degree and decades of professional experience. That will of course narrow the pool somewhat.