Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have this opportunity to speak in the debate. I commend Deputy Shane Ross for taking the initiative which is timely, given the backdrop to this debate.

It is essential to have public confidence in the judicial system that the Judiciary be seen to be independent of the political system. Patently this is not the case and I am disappointed by the Minister of State's response. There was a time, not all that long ago, when he would not have dreamed of stating some of what he had to say this morning. For a Minister of State so recently appointed he has learned many of the old tricks very quickly. Challenging people to mention occasions on which the Judiciary displayed its political affiliations is an old trick. The Minister of State knows the restrictions on us in doing this. However, some have gone ahead and named names, but the Minister of State is very well aware of the restrictions on us. As Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan stated, many civic society organisations and others outside the House have drawn attention to the political bias shown in many judgments. Many of us share serious concerns about the political orientation of some judgments and some of the findings of various tribunals which clearly indicated a political bias.

The system we have in place is not good for confidence in the justice system or the Judiciary. It also does a disservice to those working in the legal area who aspire to becoming judges and are forced to play the game. Nobody on either side of the House would deny a game is played. If one wants preferment and promotion, there is no question but that one must kick with the right foot, depending on which parties comprise the Government of the day. We have all seen this happen. As somebody stated, the Irish Independent has drawn attention to this being the case. The political affiliations of various appointees are very clear and we see it happen on a regular basis. In the past I witnessed it in the party of which I was once a member. If it looks like a party will get into government, suddenly members of the party who are members of the legal profession become very active and they are forced to do pro bono work for the party. They are obliged to make donations and befriend members of the parliamentary party to have some chance of being promotion when the party is in government. The system which operates is very unhealthy.

The Government promised reforms, but it has not implemented any; it has not opened up the system or made it more transparent. Fianna Fáil engaged in this practice in spades during its time in government, but rather than tackling it, cleaning it up and introducing reforms, the Government wants to put its snout in the trough, just as the others had done for so long. There is a strong sense that now they have their hands on the levers of power and access to the goodies, they will not waste them. That is the clear impression one gets from Fine Gael, in particular, but also from the Labour Party.

The system is unhealthy and undermines public confidence in the Judiciary. It makes for a very unhealthy justice system. This very much plays into the other major issues in the news which are the cause of so much concern to the public. There is a clear lack of transparency and accountability. Rather than the Minister challenging this attitude and how the system works, he is complicit in engaging in the type of cover-up we have seen in recent months and in a failure to champion and support those who had the courage to come forward and speak as whistleblowers in a system which was obviously problematic. He failed to make it very clear that their role was very important and that those who had the courage to come forward and blow the whistle would have the support of the State in doing so and be encouraged. The opposite has happened.

Unfortunately, the Minister, Deputy Shatter, has engaged in the opposite of such championing of openness and transparency. Not only that Minister but the Taoiseach himself, the Tánaiste and other members of the Government are complicit in that. It is really disappointing and it is not surprising that in the kind of political culture of which the present Administration is very much part, the Government is not prepared to entertain the idea of a new approach to the appointment of the Judiciary because it wishes to keep the goodies to itself. I reiterate my support for this Bill and commend Deputy Ross on bringing it forward. It certainly is worthy of support and were they on this side of the House in different circumstances, many Members on the Government side would be absolutely supportive of this legislation.

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