Barry Ward (Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I have a brief question about the jury system. I believe there are a lot of flaws in it that may not apply to this committee meeting, but specifically I wish to raise the issue of trial by a jury of one's peers and the diversity of juries, in the context of the various groups that are meeting here. When we look at juries they tend to be relatively homogenous. There is generally a good gender divide but not so much ethnic diversity, for example, in relation to the Traveller community. Other aspects such as sexual orientation are obviously very difficult to divine while sitting in a courtroom. Do any of the witnesses believe there is a piece of work that could be done by the Courts Service in achieving greater diversity and thereby greater fairness in the jury make-up system?