Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I have a comment to make which I did not make on Second Stage. We have had a number of debates in the House on sentencing. There should be some sort of commission composed exclusively of the Judiciary which could review sentences passed by its peers, especially those that appear out of sync. There are very eminent and sensible people in the Judiciary, but it also contains some very eccentric people. To the ordinary person, even on an informed basis, some sentences can raise serious questions. In a republic, nobody should be above the law.

My second point, which is probably not related to this, is that I am disappointed that we have not set up a commission that would monitor the conduct of the Judiciary. We have seen some high-profile situations where we did not have the mechanism to deal with them expeditiously. In one case, the judge found himself resigning where it should not have been necessary for him to do so. In another case, somebody was not fired when he should have been. We should learn from these cases and I urge the Minister to ensure we move in that direction when he is back in office so that people who are given very important and privileged positions within our system and society are accountable when they transgress.