Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The legislative programme published by the Government lists the judicial council Bill for priority in this session. In the list of Bills to undergo pre-legislative scrutiny this session, the programme includes the judicial appointments Bill. I take it that these will be taken as two separate Bills. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport has told us, via The Irish Times, that we have appointed the last judges under the old system and that no more judges will be appointed until the judicial appointments Bill has been passed into law.

Is it the case that there has been Cabinet agreement to that effect? Does it impact on the time we can spend critiquing and amending these important Bills? Is the Government seriously proposing to do nothing while vacancies accumulate in the Judiciary? Will trials be delayed in order that, first, the House can properly debate and examine the merits and demerits of the new system, second, the new regime is put in place and, third, the new appointees are put in place? Are we content that up to 12 months of leisurely refection should pass while at the same time we wait for a backlog of serious cases, certainly in our superior courts, to be denied justice?

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