Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Rural Independent Group, our leader, Deputy Mattie McGrath, stated at the time that he believed a clear separation between this House and the Judiciary was very important. Therefore, I welcome the statement the Taoiseach has made today. It is important to reiterate here on the record of the House that the standard set down regarding the removal of a judge, or anything like that, is a deliberately high constitutional standard. That is so important, and it is important for us to uphold that separation. I take on board what Deputy Kelly has said about ensuring the separation of powers is never misused. I agree that it works both ways.s That is why I believe it is important and imperative that the Minister for Justice should come before the House at some stage that would be deemed to be appropriate to answer questions in a comprehensive way. At the same time, it must be taken into account that it is very important that a transparent and comprehensive process, as has already been stated, is undertaken by the Judiciary. As the leader of Sinn Féin has said, this is a problematic situation. Like every political or constitutional challenge we have ever had, it just takes a bit of common sense and work to work our way through it in a proper fashion.

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