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

The Deputy is right that we are not proposing any constitutional change. The great merit of the current position is that it is the Government or the Minister - it would end up coming to me, as Minister for Justice and Equality - who is ultimately accountable to the Dáil should an appointment be made that clearly is not appropriate. I want to repeat what I have said previously, that every appointment to the Judiciary made by the current Government has been of an individual furnished on the list provided by the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board of appropriate individuals to be so appointed, or, alternatively, has involved the promotion from lower courts of other members of the Judiciary already appointed.

I have been reading the submissions as they have been coming in and found them very interesting, although there are some I have not yet had an opportunity to read. I note that members of the Judiciary in their submissions have stated that, despite their wish to see reforms implemented - they are addressing possible reforms - there is no evidence of any description since the foundation of the State that members of the Judiciary are politically partisan in any shape or form in the manner in which they determine proceedings. That is as it should be and as it has been. It is important, as the issue is discussed, that we look at how we modernise the system in a careful and responsible way to preserve judicial independence. However, I do not believe the debate should be contaminated by a suggestion that any current or past judge has ever, at any stage, made a decision based on a political commitment he or she may have had prior to his or her appointment to the Judiciary.

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