Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is a tribute to the Judiciary that there has not been undue political influence in spite of the certainty that there must be political influence to get appointed. It is a blessing that we cannot openly point to cases where political influence has influenced judgments. However, it is a lot more subtle than that because judges know that they got to where they are due to their political affiliations and they know at a subliminal level that they should not rock the boat in order to ensure the system continues.

In its submission the Law Society said the current system whereby a list of potential names is supplied to the Government and the Cabinet chooses from the list leaves the system open to accusations of political allegiance, and that has played a part in appointments. There is no doubt about it. The only way one gets to be appointed as a judge is by having political allegiances.

The Minister makes much play of the JAAB. He describes it as being of its time. He said that “Unfortunately, to date JAAB has not conducted such interviews”. We have a judicial appointments board that has never conducted an interview of a potential candidate for a job. That is a most unbelievable system that could operate in a democracy. It is disingenuous of the Minister to send a Minister of State as a proxy to rubbish the Bill in such a way. The Bill should be treated with respect by the House and it should be debated. The Government will vote against it in order to continue the system of patronage.

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