Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I will be brief because I have no wish to cut across others. Sinn Féin Members have tabled several amendments and I have no wish to delay. However, I will put three points to the Minister. I have argued these points with my party in the past decade or more. We need to tackle exorbitant legal fees, which amount to profiteering on an alarming scale. This must be done because it is part of the reason that judges are paid as they are.

One thing the Minister of State might consider is to change from a system whereby retired barristers who have built up millions of euro in wealth during their practice period are appointed to the Bench on a good salary for short periods. Then, as soon as they finish, they get 50% of that salary as a pension. Most of them take it for the pension. The Minister of State should consider a newer system such as that operated in other countries whereby if one wishes to be a member of the Judiciary, it is considered a profession in its own right and people come in at a younger age and have a career. Some people spend 40 years as a judge and build up service and, therefore, when they get their pension at the end of it, it has been accrued over a longer period rather than over ten or 15 years as is the case with the Judiciary now. The Minister of State could usefully consider a whole new system in this regard and I encourage him or the Minister for Justice and Equality to do so.