Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I am advised that the draft heads are being prepared in the Department, taking into account work done by the Constitutional Review Group, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Constitution and the Chief Justice's committee on judicial ethics. While I do not wish to comment on a specific case, it is also fair to say that there has been a continuing legal challenge and a jurisprudence has developed as a result of the situation regarding Judge Curtin which has been playing through in the courts in various guises through the various applications that have been made to the courts. Therefore, it would be most imprudent to proceed without taking into account the developing jurisprudence emerging as a result of that rare situation where it is being contemplated by the Oireachtas that there may be grounds for the termination of the judge's appointment.

See this speech in context