Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

Senator Quinn noted that he was close to many of the people involved in the Stardust tragedy. He correctly focused on how this should never happen again. Senator Browne raised the issue of fire inspections and asked for a debate on the fire service as a whole.

Senator Ross raised the question of what he described as Government appointments to the Judiciary. Regardless of how such appointments come about, I have never found or heard of a judge who did not act completely independently and completely within his or her own judicial rights. We must rely on the independence of the Judiciary. It is our bulwark and is where we go to seek redress. Civilised countries, including Ireland, have good judiciaries. I have never encountered anything untoward and while we may disagree and shout and roar about a particular decision, by and large, that is the system. A judge's viewpoint of a particular case depends on the characteristics of that judge. However, in the operation of their duties, judges are independent.