Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have grounds for scepticism about the commitments given by the Government in respect of the establishment of a judicial council. The Fine Gael-Labour Party programme for Government published back in 2011 contained a commitment to establish a judicial council but, five years on, it has not been established.

The important message to be put out is that while, of course, there will be a requirement for judges at times to be disciplined and situations where judges step beyond the mark and need to be told they have stepped beyond it, that is a function that needs to be performed outside this House by the judges themselves. This is why we need the establishment of a judicial council. The establishment of such a council will be for the benefit of the Judiciary and it will also be for the benefit of the Irish public. If we allow a situation to persist where the Government is drifting on the establishment of a judicial council, while at the same time some members of the Government are in the public domain saying that these guys need to be regulated and presenting it as if they do not want to be regulated, it is a dangerous combination for our judicial system. That is why we need immediate action in this respect.

See this speech in context