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

The law, at present, for appointments to the superior courts is that a person must have been working in practice as a barrister or solicitor for 12 years. What is proposed in the legislation put forward by the Government in this section, which is an amendment to the 1961 Act, is that the qualifications would be changed so that legal academics would be available for appointment to the courts. I agree with much of what Deputy Ó Laoghaire said. In other jurisdictions, particularly in the United States, for instance, academics are appointed to the highest court in that land, the Supreme Court, on the basis of their academic qualifications.

My concern about the amendment put forward by Deputy Ó Laoghaire is that it would mean that a person could merely qualify as a barrister or solicitor and then be in a lecturing role for, say, 20 or 25 years without having ever practised in the courts. It would be very difficult for anyone who, for instance, worked in the law department in Trinity College or in NUI Galway who had never worked as a barrister or solicitor to find him or herself being appointed to, say, the Circuit Court or the High Court. It may be feasible for such persons to play the role of an appeal court judge because an appeal court judge does not deal with witnesses and mainly has to deal with issues of strict interpretation of law. My concern here, in respect of the Sinn Féin amendment, is that persons could be appointed who would not have practical experience of what is happening in a court. This is no criticism of them. It is merely a fact.

One of the most important functions that a judge has to fulfil in a primary court is knowing the rules of evidence. No matter how well versed a person is on the rules of evidence as an academic, he or she would be at a severe disadvantage if that person did not have an opportunity to experience the rules of evidence operating in a court of law. For that reason, although I welcome the fact that there will be individuals who can now be appointed from legal academia, it is important that they bring with them an element of practical experience in our courts.

It brings another relevant matter to mind. At present, it appears that barristers can only be appointed as judges if they are practising barristers in the Four Courts. Some former barristers have contacted me and said that seems unfair. These are barristers who have left the Four Courts, who are no longer members of the Law Library but who continue to work, for instance, as in-house counsel. They see themselves working in a similar position to solicitors in the same office but the solicitors are eligible for appointment to the court whereas they are not because they are no longer practising in the Law Library. That is something the Minister might look at in due course.

I want to let Deputy Ó Laoghaire know that, notwithstanding my general support for the principle, I will not be supporting the amendment.

See this speech in context