Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There were a great deal more than five judicial appointments made last year, so I do not know exactly what the Deputy is talking about when he says five out of six judicial appointments involved members of my party. There were substantial appointments made at all levels of the courts. Some of the individuals would have been engaged in politics; many of them were not. There were also individuals who were promoted from one court level to another because of the excellence of their reputation as members of the Judiciary and not connected in any shape or form with politics.

I would not rely, as Deputy Mac Lochlainn does, on the manner in which these matters are presented in the print media. That manner is to denigrate anybody appointed to the Judiciary who has ever been engaged in politics or assisted any political party at any time. It assumes it is the only reason for their appointment and entirely ignores their legal or judicial career. From my recollection, the bit of that report to which the Deputy referred, identified at least two individuals with a particular political party and who were promoted from one court to another. Ironically, they were originally appointed to the Judiciary when an entirely different party was the lead party in government. Their presence in the Judiciary was, accordingly, counterintuitive to the suggestion that the only reason they were appointed was because of political connections.

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