Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)

I understand the reason Senator Norris tabled this amendment. In effect he asks for the removal of all protection from the Judiciary, which would be similar to taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut. However, I can see where he is coming from. I refer to the court case yesterday involving three ladies who were taking drugs back to County Cork and who went astray. The judge made certain remarks I considered to be highly appropriate. The amendment would place a severe curtailment on the Judiciary and would not achieve the correct result. It is common practice in all courts and in the District Court in particular for judges to tell a young brat who comes in with cock and bull story that he is lying through his teeth. As this is quite common, where would one stop?

Senator Walsh touched on a very important point and while I do not wish to stray from it, I consider the establishment of a judicial council or commission to be a necessity in future. Although a former colleague and previous Minister promised it some years ago, it has not arrived yet. Hopefully, like this Bill, it has been cooking for a long time and that when the time comes, like a Christmas cake, Members will get the mix right.

In my experience of approximately 30 years of dealing with judges and so on, our Judiciary and judicial system has served the country well since the foundation of the State. While there are exceptions, by and large we have some excellent judges and to remove section 15(2)(f) from the Bill would do far more harm and damage to the necessary defences than it would achieve. Consequently, Members must be extremely careful. I support section 15 in general and section 15(2)(f) in particular.