Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

When I have those views to hand, I will introduce legislation on it. Senator Norris makes a fair point. While I do not wish to be seen to criticise the Judiciary as I am the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, it is important that utterances from the judicial bench do not damage people in their reputations. I recall that a wise District Court judge, who has now retired, told me that on his appointment, the first thing he taught himself to do was simply to read the statute, read the penalty prescribed by the Oireachtas and read it out to the guilty party when imposing sentence without making any other comments whatsoever regarding the imposition of sentence. It is a wise rule.

I await the views of the Chief Justice in this regard. While I understand the reason Senator Norris raised the issue, it cannot be dealt with in this Bill. It is a matter for a separate item of legislation.