Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Bill will outlaw canvassing by anyone, including politicians, for people to be appointed as judges. It will require all judges to go through the JAAB. Currently, none of them does if they are seeking higher judicial office. It will also ensure the new board will have a lay majority and a lay chairman because if there is to be less political involvement in the appointment of judges, we do not want to have too much judicial or legal professional involvement. We want a majority of the board to be lay people, with a lay chairman. I have given a commitment to fast-track the Bill through the Houses and hope I will have the support of all parties in the House in doing so because we can resolve this matter once and for all by putting through this important legislation. I hope I will have the support of the House and the Seanad in so doing. We will, therefore, not have a situation where we will once again have a controversy about a judicial appointment in this way.

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