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

I welcome the comments of the Minister for Justice and Equality. It is about time that somebody in government has stood up to the cowardly and ill-informed assault that the Minister, Deputy Ross, has waged against the Judiciary for the past two years. It is regrettable that no one else in government has seen fit to do likewise.

In respect of Deputy Ó Laoghaire's amendment, there is something I did not notice when I was speaking about it earlier and I am afraid it has affected my view in respect of it. I do not know if he intended this, but the effect is to remove section 7 in its entirety. Perhaps he is aware of this but if section 7 is removed that would have the effect of removing section 7(2)(c) which contains the objective I know he agrees with, namely, that there should be proficiency in the Irish language among the Judiciary. That would affect my view in respect of the amendment. It is important that there would be proficiency in the Irish language for the reasons I outlined earlier.

I note the interesting comments Deputy Daly made in respect of diversity. "Diversity" is a word that is sometimes overused. It sounds great in legislation but it is not meaningful. In order to get greater diversity in the Judiciary we need to get greater diversity in the legal profession. My experience is that it is changing. It is very hard to make it as a barrister in Ireland now, but it is not the case that it the same type of people who are becoming barristers or solicitors. A much broader range of people is coming into the legal profession. It is a much tougher career than is presented by people who view it as being an easy career. It is very hard to make a living as a young barrister or solicitor. We must encourage people and ensure they are given a chance early on. The merit principle in the profession is really important so that people get a chance on merit to make a living and that will improve diversity in the Judiciary.

See this speech in context