Speaking on RTE radio's "Drivetime" programme earlier this week, University of Limerick legal academic Dr. Laura Cahillane commented on the Bill's objective of a more diverse Judiciary. She stated that in Ireland we have a very homogenous Judiciary and that research has shown that when judges are in control of these sorts of appointing bodies, they will always appoint judges in their own image. She said that if judges are all taken from the same sort of educational background where they have all gone to the same schools and are from the same sort of higher middle class background, one will have a repetition of all of these people being appointed. She pointed out that research had shown that when one involves lay persons in the process and where there is a lay majority, one gets a much more diverse Judiciary. These are the facts. This is the way society is run. To achieve this laudable objective of a more diverse Judiciary we must, of course, have a more diverse legal profession from which judges can be selected. This is an issue for another debate on another day. For the purposes of today's debate, I welcome this objective in the Bill.

We should all listen and learn from the following. Diversity encompasses a wide range of characteristics. As Minister of State with responsibility for disability issues, I have a particular interest in fighting for the cause of disability rights. We think of the many people in the disability community with excellent talents. Many of them have brilliant abilities which are often not reflected in our broader society. That is why it is a great pleasure and honour for me to be Minister of State and to change the mindset in Irish society. No disabled person should be excluded from any position in society for which he or she is otherwise educationally qualified solely on account of a disability. No disabled person, or person from any other diverse background, should be thought not good enough to become a judge simply because those who appoint judges think that they are not "people like us". These types of decisions may not be made consciously and those making them may not even realise that they are making them, but without a diverse range of lay members at the table these decisions will undoubtedly be made and we will continue to have Dr. Laura Cahillane's "very homogenous Judiciary" instead of the diverse Judiciary which this Bill has as its objective. These are very important aspects of the broader debate. I look forward to the day when our diverse Judiciary includes a representative number of members of the disabled community. In furtherance of this vision, I will be supporting this Bill.

We must challenge those who have sought to undermine the Bill. I reject the comments of Senator Michael McDowell, for example, and his personal attack on the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross. Let us debate the legislation and the issue while leaving people out of it. Let us leave personalities out of it. This legislation will deliver on the programme for Government commitment to reform judicial appointments by removing the appearance or reality of political interference in the process. This is a very important aspect of this legislation. Many members of the public are of that view. The legislation proposes a transparent, independent system with a new judicial appointments system encompassing key features. These are an independent chairperson, a lay majority and a reduction in the number of candidates being recommended for any vacancy to a maximum of three. These are progressive proposals and I cannot understand why any Member of the Opposition would oppose such radical, fresh new legislation. The Bill is about, for the first time, merit. If one believes in a meritocracy and giving the best person the job, one should support the Bill. The Bill is about reform, merit, transparency and, above all, the future of justice in Ireland.

See this item in context