Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Since the formation of the Government we have listened to the Minister, Deputy Ross, pontificate about the dramatic reforms he proposes in the appointment of the Judiciary. It is no exaggeration to say he seems obsessed with an area for which he has no ministerial responsibility. Many of us may have concerns about what he proposes, but we will debate it when it actually happens. Having listened to plenty of hyperbole from the Minister, Deputy Ross, over the past year The Sunday Business Postmade for staggering reading this week. We discovered that in advance of the new system coming into play, the Minister, Deputy Ross, last week agreed to the appointment of a batch of new judges, including one for a vacancy which, we understand, will not arise until next November. Having acted as the arch critic of any Government interference or of a political fingerprint on the appointment of judges, apparently the only political interference to be allowed is his own. We read about his double standards in the newspaper. Apparently, not only did he determine who was to be appointed but, according to the report, he went through each of the appointments with a fine-tooth comb. Since the Minister, Deputy Ross, seems to think, like Donald Trump, that his vetting is non-political because he is a non-politician, will the Government continue with the new judicial appointment system or is the new Ross system to be the norm?

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