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

I have immense respect for the current Chief Justice, whom I have known since I was a teenager, and also the office of the Chief Justice. It is not the case in either England or Scotland that the chief justice in those jurisdictions chairs their judicial appointments committee, so I do not see that as a denigration of anyone's office. It is very much the precedent in our neighbouring jurisdictions that the chief justice does not chair the similar committee.

The rationale behind the Bill is threefold. We want these appointments to be less political in the future, we want them to be more transparent, and we do not want any profession to be self-regulating or self-appointing. We have moved away from self-regulating and self-appointing professions a long time ago. When Fianna Fáil was last in Government, the decision was made to remove the medical majority on the Medical Council. I know it is not the same thing because the Medical Council does not hire doctors, but it can strike them off. The Medical Council, through reform brought in when Fianna Fáil was last in office, does not have a medical majority. There is a similar rationale behind that. No profession should be self-regulating or self-appointing. That is why there is a lay majority now on the professional regulator for almost every profession. This is the trend in policy, the trend in modernity and the trend in terms of reform.

I want to point out that this legislation is not Independent Alliance legislation or Fine Gael legislation.

It is Government legislation. It is in the programme for Government, as is the commitment to a lay chairperson and as is the commitment to a lay majority. It was a programme for Government supported by the Independent Alliance and ratified by my party at our special conference in Athlone. It has been our position for at least a year. I have no intention of rushing this Bill through. There should be plenty of time for open debate and for amendments.

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