Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 3 specifies a 20% figure for all judicial appointments. We have tried to set out very clearly in this new legislation that any appointment to judicial office would be based on merit and we must take into account the objective of the membership of the Judiciary in each court. We should have a sufficient number of members who are proficient in the Irish language but, again, we do not set out specifically that there should be a specific number who are men or women. We ask for a sufficient number of men and women. When setting out that there should be sufficient diversity among those being put forward, we are not prescriptive. That is because we want this to be based on merit and we do not want to have to put any specific number or percentage down for any of those requirements or qualifications we have asked of the commission when putting names forward. By putting the 20% figure in the amendment, it would be applied separately and differently from the requirement for diversity and a gender balance.

With regard to the Supreme Court, having candidates drawn exclusively from a pool of judges competent in reading and understanding the Constitution and matters of law in both official languages is one thing. The amendment would have the stipulation that they must be 100% proficient in the Irish language.

It removes the ability for diversity and quite a number of different elements we are requiring in this legislation. I am not sure it would be beneficial for any of us for that to be the case.

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