Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 3:

In page 11, line 12, after "office," to insert the following: "ensuring that recommendations in the case of no fewer than 20 per cent of judicial offices, and 100 per cent in the case of appointments to the Supreme Court, in a given year, the nominees shall be exclusively drawn from candidates who are competent to read and understand the Constitution and matters of law in both official languages,".

Ensuring the minimum requirements that 20% of new appointments to judicial positions are reserved for people who can practise bilingually is imperative if we are to rectify this unfairness at the heart of our courts and get started towards the 20% goal for public bodies that has been committed to in the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021. Sinn Féin is also proposing that for the very top level, the Supreme Court, all judges appointed should be able to practise bilingually. This is, of course, because Irish is a necessary skill for that job. Supreme Court judges are charged with interpreting the text of the Constitution, which is not only bilingual but also states categorically that the Irish text is the authoritative version. There are significant differences between this text and the English translations.

We are demanding that judges in charge of interpreting the law should be able to read it. If the Government is serious about the rule of law in respecting the Constitution, there should not be any difficulty with this.

See this speech in context